The Managed Care Unit works to resolve complex claims problems between health care providers and managed care insurers. This unit also conducts educational outreach programs and workshops to promote better awareness of appropriate claims-filing and claims-paying practices between these respective groups.

The Life and Health Division is responsible for solving both technical and practical problems related to regulating insurers through oversight of life and health insurance policy contracts in Georgia.

The Regulatory Services Division is responsible for licensing insurance companies and ensuring that the licensed companies remain solvent and compliant with all the requirements of Georgia laws and regulations.

The mission of the Georgia Department of Human Services is to provide Georgia with customer-focused human services that promote child and adult protection, child welfare, stronger families and self-sufficiency.

Medicare is a federal program and the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner regulates some aspects of Medicare-related insurance business. These aspects include Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap), which is a traditional, indemnity health insurance product that fills “gaps” in coinsurance or deductible amounts that are not fully covered. The office regulates the review and approval of Medigap products and their premium rates.

The Division of Aging Services (DAS) administers a statewide system of services for senior citizens, their families and caregivers. The division works with other aging agencies and organizations to effectively and efficiently respond to the needs of elderly Georgians. DAS meets the challenge of Georgia's growing older population through continued service improvement and innovation.

The Agents Licensing Section is responsible for regulating insurance industry agents, adjusters, agencies, counselors, subagents and surplus lines brokers licensed in the state of Georgia.

The Property and Casualty Division is responsible for ensuring that all property and casualty insurance rates, rules and forms used in Georgia comply with state law.

The Consumer Services Division investigates policyholder complaints and responds to inquiries from the public. Its goal is to answer insurance-related questions promptly and to ensure fair and equitable resolution of disputes involving insurance transactions between insurers, agents and policyholders.

GeorgiaCares is a private-public partnership administered by the Division of Aging Services (DAS). It is a volunteer-based program that provides free, unbiased and factual information and assistance for Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers. GeorgiaCares is composed of the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and SMP (formerly known as Senior Medicare Patrol). Local assistance is available for health insurance-related issues including: Medicare; Medicaid; financial assistance programs; health error, fraud and abuse; and long-term care insurance. GeorgiaCares is not affiliated with any insurance company, and counselors do not sell or solicit any type of insurance. GeorgiaCares counselors can help seniors understand: Medicare and changes in Medicare; Medicare summary notices; Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap); Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C); Medicare fraud; and long-term care insurance. Counselors can also help seniors with: selecting a prescription plan; sorting through medical bills; filing Medicare claims and appeals, prescription assistance applications, and Medicare fraud reports; and analyzing Medigap and long-term care insurance policies. Services are provided through the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA).

The Georgia Council on Aging serves in an advisory capacity on aging issues to the governor of Georgia, the Georgia General Assembly, the Board of Human Services, and all other state agencies. It advocates for aging Georgians and their families in order to improve their quality of life. It also aims to educate residents and make recommendations about programs for the elderly in Georgia.

The Fraud Unit investigates violations of Georgia statutes related to insurance fraud. The unit receives requests from: property and casualty companies; health care providers; life insurers and other insurance providers; consumer and departmental complaints; and through local, state and federal authorities.

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that advocates for people ages 50 and older. Since 1958, AARP has lobbied for senior issues, including the passage of Medicare in 1965. AARP offers support from staffed offices in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Georgia Gerontology Society is composed of professionals whose careers involve the elderly. Its mission is to enhance public awareness of the needs, rights and continuing contributions of older people, and it serves as the focal point for senior advocacy related to public and social policy within the state of Georgia.

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program helps Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect and prevent health care fraud. The goal is to protect older people and to preserve the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal program was created in 1996 by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and amended in 2006 by Titles II and IV of the Older Americans Act.

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is a national program that offers counseling and assistance to people with Medicare and to their families. Coordinators provide counseling on Medicare benefits, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), Social Security, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. SHIP, formerly the Information, Counseling and Assistance (ICA) grants program, was created under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. This act authorized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make grants to states for health advisory services programs for people with Medicare.

Alliant/Georgia Medical Care Foundation is the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for the state of Georgia. GIOs are private, mostly not-for-profit organizations, staffed by doctors and other health care professionals, who are trained to review medical care, to help beneficiaries with complaints about the quality of care and to implement improvements in the quality of care available throughout the spectrum of care. QIOs are required under Sections 1152-1154 of the Social Security Act.

The long-term care ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The office resolves complaints and educates seniors and long-term care providers about their rights and good care practices. The ombudsman also provides information to the public on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and services, residents' rights, and legislative and policy issues. In 1978, an amendment to the federal Older Americans Act required every state to have an ombudsman program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long-term care system. The ombudsman program is administered by the Administration on Aging (AoA).

The Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) Comprehensive Services Amendments in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans 60 and older in every local community. The amendments added a new Title V, which authorized grants to local community agencies in every state. The AAAs provide a range of options that allow older adults to choose the home- and community-based services and living arrangements that suit them best. The 12 regional Area Agencies on Aging are located across the state of Georgia.

As president of Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU), Ricardo Azziz oversees the Medical College of Georgia, the 13th oldest and sixth-largest medical school in the nation. Azziz is a physician, biomedical researcher and health care executive. He teaches obstetrics, gynecology and medicine at GHSU. Prior to GHSU, he oversaw the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Health System and UCLA. Funded by the National Institute of Health, his androgen excess research is well-known. Azziz has also served on the faculty of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he received his MBA and M.P.H.

John T. Fox is president and CEO of Emory Healthcare, Georgia’s largest and most comprehensive health care system. Emory Healthcare has $1.7 billion in net revenue and provides $48.9 million in charity annually. Before joining Emory Healthcare, Fox was executive vice president of Clarian Health, an academic medical center in Indianapolis, and vice president at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Fox began his career at Coopers and Lybrand as a health care consultant. Fox is a member of the American Association of Health Plans, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Health Care Systems Governing Council of the American Hospital Association, the Healthcare Institute and other professional organizations. He is also chair of Atlanta’s Health Services CEO forum.

Gary R. Ulicny has served as president and CEO of Shepherd Center since 1994, making him the longest-tenured CEO of a medical hospital in the metropolitan Atlanta area. He also serves as president of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the largest U.S. organization focusing on interdisciplinary rehabilitation research. At Shepherd Center, Ulicny oversaw the additions of a brain injury treatment program and a comprehensive pain institute, and he increased the overall capacity from 100 to 132 beds.

John T. Fox is president and CEO of Emory Healthcare, Georgia’s largest and most comprehensive health care system. Emory Healthcare has $1.7 billion in net revenue and provides $48.9 million in charity annually. Before joining Emory Healthcare, Fox was executive vice president of Clarian Health, an academic medical center in Indianapolis, and vice president at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Fox began his career at Coopers and Lybrand as a health care consultant. Fox is a member of the American Association of Health Plans, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Health Care Systems Governing Council of the American Hospital Association, the Healthcare Institute and other professional organizations. He is also chair of Atlanta’s Health Services CEO forum.

John T. Fox is president and CEO of Emory Healthcare, Georgia’s largest and most comprehensive health care system. Emory Healthcare has $1.7 billion in net revenue and provides $48.9 million in charity annually. Before joining Emory Healthcare, Fox was executive vice president of Clarian Health, an academic medical center in Indianapolis, and vice president at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Fox began his career at Coopers and Lybrand as a health care consultant. Fox is a member of the American Association of Health Plans, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Health Care Systems Governing Council of the American Hospital Association, the Healthcare Institute and other professional organizations. He is also chair of Atlanta’s Health Services CEO forum.

James R. Davis is president and CEO of University Health Care System, which includes a 581-bed not-for-profit community hospital. Davis joined the system as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Prior to University Hospital, he was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Humility of Mary Health Partners in Youngstown, Ohio. He has served in many other executive positions through the years, including: senior associate administrator and chief operations officer at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla.; senior vice president and chief operations officer for system organizations, Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio; and executive vice president and chief operating officer at Aultman Hospital in Canton Ohio.

The Georgia Senate Health and Human Services Committee considers legislation that affects the condition of safety regulations and social services for the citizens of Georgia. This committee also addresses the legal areas surrounding medical professionals as well as medicinal provisions.

The Georgia House Health and Human Services Committee vets and considers bills pertaining to health care and social services before the bills go to the full House.