# Georgia SB 428: Medical Assistance; Department of Community Health to submit a waiver request to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; direct

Georgia SB 428, Medical Assistance; Department of Community Health to submit a waiver request to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; direct, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Drew Echols (Republican), Bo Hatchett (Republican), Kim Jackson (Democrat) and 2 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB428-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia SB 428
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Medical Assistance; Department of Community Health to submit a waiver request to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; direct
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-27
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Drew Echols (Republican), Bo Hatchett (Republican), Kim Jackson (Democrat), Kay Kirkpatrick (Republican), Ben Watson (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Health, Health and Human Services, General Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (212 yes, 2 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Path to Medicaid community mental health coverage: benefit, medium. Georgia’s Department of Community Health may request federal approval by December 31, 2026, for Medicaid-funded home and community mental health services. These services target Medicaid recipients over age 21 who need mental health care but do not need institutional care. The care assessment consid…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Drew Echols (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Bo Hatchett (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Kim Jackson (Democrat), Senate
- Sponsor: Kay Kirkpatrick (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Ben Watson (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Chuck Efstration (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-23 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 166 | 2 | 5 |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 46 | 0 | 7 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- 2026-05-11: Act 492
- 2026-04-10: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-03-23: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-10: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-02-26: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-02-25: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-02-24: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-01-27: Senate Hopper (Senate)

## Bill text

- SB 428/AP* (v7): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/247225)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [SB 428/AP* (v7) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/247225)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
- [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills)
- [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB428-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).