Insurers to track health care law’s costs
Insurance companies would be required to tell customers how much their premiums increase because of the Affordable Care Act under legislation nearing final passage in the General Assembly.
The House voted Thursday, largely along party lines, to approve Senate Bill 236. Because the House made minor changes, the bill must go back to the Senate.
Republicans said insurance companies are concerned about being blamed for any increase in insurance premiums the new federal law will cause. Democrats, however, noted that if premiums decreased because of the health care law, insurance companies would not be required to tell consumers.
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
Human trafficking bill clears Senate
A bill that would require strip clubs, job recruitment centers and other businesses to post notices telling human trafficking victims how to get help cleared the state Senate on Thursday.
The signs will refer people who are being sold for sex or forced into other labor to call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, a toll-free, anonymous hotline run by the nonprofit Polaris Project. Hotels, truck stations, bus stops, rest areas and other establishments are also included in the bill.
House Bill 141 passed in a 47-to-1 vote. The state House approved the bill in February.
Businesses that do not comply may be punished by a fine of up to $500 on a first offense. Repeat offenders face a misdemeanor charge and a $5,000 fine.
— Willoughby Mariano
Final passage for Georgia Archives measure
The state Senate unanimously approved a measure Thursday allowing the University System of Georgia to take over management of the Georgia Archives.
The vote sends House Bill 287 to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature. Deal pledged last year to cut the archives’ ties to the Secretary of State’s Office, where it bore the brunt of budget cuts as state revenue lagged. At one point last year, it was almost closed to the public except for limited appointments.
The bill, which has already been approved by the full House, would transfer the archives starting July 1. The University System has already formed a task force to recommend how to handle the transition.
— Kristina Torres
State Senate passes pill mill bill
The Georgia Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would require pain management clinics to be licensed and regulated by the Georgia Composite Medical Board.
The bill was aimed at preventing the spread of so-called “pill mills” that dole out large quantities of painkillers with little or no health screening of patients. The bill passed by a vote of 44 to 5 and was carried in the Senate by Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford.
The bill mandates that only doctors can own pain management clinics.
— Andria Simmons
Alzheimer’s task force bill goes to Deal
A measure to create a task force on Alzheimer’s and other diseases that cause dementia received final passage Thursday in the House. The bill describes Alzheimer’s as a “looming national public health crisis” and establishes a task force that will assess Georgia’s ability to effectively care for its citizens living with the disease and those like it.
The task force will look at the state’s strengths and weaknesses — both in the public and private sector — and develop a state plan by the end of March 2014 to improve Georgia’s dementia programs and services. Senate Bill 14, sponsored by Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, will now go to the governor for his signature.
— Melissa Abbey
