Georgia SB 444 expressly permits insurers, private review agents, and utilization review entities to use AI to automate tasks and support decision-making, but prohibits adverse determinations based solely on AI output. Signed in May 2026, it takes effect January 1, 2027.
What Georgia SB 444 Permits and Prohibits
The law draws a clean line. AI is allowed as a workflow tool, handling triage, automation, and decision support across the utilization review process. What it cannot do is issue the denial. Before a patient can receive an adverse determination, a qualified human reviewer with clinical peer participation must conduct the utilization review.
What Health Plans Should Do Now
For health plans and their vendors operating in Georgia, AI can triage and assist, but denials require documented human clinical review. That documentation requirement matters as much as the review itself, since plans will need to show that a qualified person actually performed it.
With the compliance date set for January 1, 2027, insurers have a defined window to put human review checkpoints and record-keeping in place before enforcement begins.
Source: Office of the Governor of Georgia: SB 444
Report a violation: If you believe a business is violating this law, you can file a complaint with the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.
