Georgia · Senate Bill · 2025–2026 Regular Session
SB444
Georgia SB 444 — An Act to amend Chapter 46 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to certification of private review agents, so as to provide that certain decisions with regard to the provision of insurance coverage for healthcare services shall not be based solely on artificial intelligence systems, artificial intelligence, or other software tools

Status ● Enacted Effective Jan 1, 2027 Passage Likelihood H

WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 1 REQUIREMENT TYPE

How Is This Bill Enforced

Enforcement Authority
Enforcement is through the Georgia Insurance Commissioner, who has existing regulatory authority over private review agents and utilization review entities under O.C.G.A. Title 33, Chapter 46. No private right of action is created by this bill. Enforcement is agency-initiated through the Commissioner's rulemaking and certification authority.
Private Right of Action
No private right of action. Enforcement is exclusive to the designated authority.
Penalties
The bill does not specify monetary penalties, damages, or remedies. Enforcement remedies are those available to the Georgia Insurance Commissioner under existing Chapter 46 authority, which may include certification revocation or other administrative actions.

What This Bill Requires

Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.

Statutory Text
Analysis & Obligations
O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)
Definitions

(a)(1) 'Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence'Artificial intelligence' means a machine based system that can, for a given set of human defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(1)' means a machine based system that can, for a given set of human defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.

(a)(2) 'Artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system'Artificial intelligence system' means an engineered or machine based system that emulates the capability of a person to receive audio, visual, text, or any other form of information and use such information to emulate a human cognitive process, including, but not limited to, learning, generalizing, reasoning, planning, predicting, acting, or communicating; provided, however, that artificial intelligence systems may vary in the forms of information they can receive and in the human cognitive processes they can emulate.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(2)' means an engineered or machine based system that emulates the capability of a person to receive audio, visual, text, or any other form of information and use such information to emulate a human cognitive process, including, but not limited to, learning, generalizing, reasoning, planning, predicting, acting, or communicating; provided, however, that artificial intelligence systemsArtificial intelligence system'Artificial intelligence system' means an engineered or machine based system that emulates the capability of a person to receive audio, visual, text, or any other form of information and use such information to emulate a human cognitive process, including, but not limited to, learning, generalizing, reasoning, planning, predicting, acting, or communicating; provided, however, that artificial intelligence systems may vary in the forms of information they can receive and in the human cognitive processes they can emulate.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(2) may vary in the forms of information they can receive and in the human cognitive processes they can emulate.

Subsection (a) defines two key terms — artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence system — that scope the operative provisions of the new Code section. The AI definition tracks common federal formulations (similar to the National AI Initiative Act definition), while the AI system definition is broader, encompassing engineered or machine-based systems that emulate human cognitive processes across multiple modalities.

O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(b)
Permissible use of AI in utilization review
Deployer

(b) 1 Private review agents and utilization review entities may use artificial intelligence systemsArtificial intelligence system'Artificial intelligence system' means an engineered or machine based system that emulates the capability of a person to receive audio, visual, text, or any other form of information and use such information to emulate a human cognitive process, including, but not limited to, learning, generalizing, reasoning, planning, predicting, acting, or communicating; provided, however, that artificial intelligence systems may vary in the forms of information they can receive and in the human cognitive processes they can emulate.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(2), artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence'Artificial intelligence' means a machine based system that can, for a given set of human defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(1), or other software tools, provided that such systems or tools are a part of a utilization review plan that is in accordance with the standards set forth in this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted by the Commissioner.

Subsection (b) establishes a conditional permission: private review agents and utilization review entities may use AI systems and other software tools, but only if those tools are integrated into a utilization review plan that complies with existing Chapter 46 standards and Commissioner regulations. This creates a compliance prerequisite — AI use in utilization review is lawful only when embedded within an approved plan framework.

Compliance actions 1 item
1
Private review agents and utilization review entities may use AI systems, artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence'Artificial intelligence' means a machine based system that can, for a given set of human defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(1), or other software tools in utilization review only if those systems or tools are part of a utilization review plan that complies with the standards in Chapter 46 of Title 33 and the rules and regulations adopted by the Commissioner.
HC-01.4
O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(c)
Prohibition on AI-only adverse determinations and clinical peer override
Deployer

(c) 2 Artificial intelligence systemsArtificial intelligence system'Artificial intelligence system' means an engineered or machine based system that emulates the capability of a person to receive audio, visual, text, or any other form of information and use such information to emulate a human cognitive process, including, but not limited to, learning, generalizing, reasoning, planning, predicting, acting, or communicating; provided, however, that artificial intelligence systems may vary in the forms of information they can receive and in the human cognitive processes they can emulate.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(2), artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence'Artificial intelligence' means a machine based system that can, for a given set of human defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(1), and other software tools may be used to automate tasks, reduce administrative burdens, participate in decision-making processes, and perform other lawful functions; provided, however, that such systems shall not issue an adverse determination to a patient until a natural person qualifying as a private review agent or a utilization review entity conducts a utilization review in which a clinical peer participates. In no event shall artificial intelligence systemsArtificial intelligence system'Artificial intelligence system' means an engineered or machine based system that emulates the capability of a person to receive audio, visual, text, or any other form of information and use such information to emulate a human cognitive process, including, but not limited to, learning, generalizing, reasoning, planning, predicting, acting, or communicating; provided, however, that artificial intelligence systems may vary in the forms of information they can receive and in the human cognitive processes they can emulate.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(2), artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence'Artificial intelligence' means a machine based system that can, for a given set of human defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(1), or other software tools supersede the judgment of such clinical peer.

Subsection (c) is the bill's core substantive obligation. It permits AI tools for administrative and decision-support functions but draws a hard line: no adverse determination may issue to a patient unless a natural person qualifying as a private review agent or utilization review entity has conducted a utilization review with clinical peer participation. The final sentence reinforces this by providing that AI may never supersede the clinical peer's judgment. Together, these provisions ensure that AI remains a decision-support tool and cannot serve as the sole basis for denying, delaying, or modifying coverage.

Compliance actions 1 item
2
Private review agents and utilization review entities must not issue an adverse determination to a patient based solely on AI systems, artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence'Artificial intelligence' means a machine based system that can, for a given set of human defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(1), or other software tools. Before any adverse determination issues, a natural person qualifying as a private review agent or utilization review entity must conduct a utilization review in which a clinical peer participates. AI systems, artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence'Artificial intelligence' means a machine based system that can, for a given set of human defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.O.C.G.A. § 33-46-7.1(a)(1), and other software tools may never supersede the judgment of the clinical peer.
HC-01.1

Passage Likelihood

Enacted
Status Enacted

Legislative History

2026-02-02 Senate Hopper
2026-02-03 Senate Read and Referred
2026-02-06 Senate Committee Favorably Reported
2026-02-09 Senate Read Second Time
2026-02-11 Senate Third Read
2026-02-11 Senate Passed/Adopted
2026-02-12 House First Readers
2026-02-17 House Second Readers
2026-03-18 House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
2026-03-19 House Third Readers
2026-03-19 House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
2026-03-25 Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub
2026-04-10 Senate Sent to Governor
2026-05-05 Senate Date Signed by Governor
2026-05-05 Act 411

Entry Last Reviewed

2026-05-04
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