What Is a Letter of Protection, and How Did Georgia’s 2025 Law Change It?
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A letter of protection (LOP) is an arrangement in which a healthcare provider treats an injured person in exchange for a promise that its bills will be paid from any judgment or settlement in the injury case. Senate Bill 68 addressed these arrangements in O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1(d), and for causes of action arising on or after April 21, 2025, it made four categories of information about such an arrangement “relevant and discoverable”: the letter itself, itemized and coded charges, any sale of the account to a third party and its price, and whether someone referred the claimant for treatment and who.
What subsection (d) makes discoverable
Subsection (d) applies to “a letter of protection or any other arrangement by which a healthcare provider renders treatment in exchange for a promise of payment … regardless of how such arrangement is referred to”.
| Item | Statutory text |
|---|---|
| The letter | "A copy of the letter of protection" |
| The bills | "All charges for the plaintiff's medical and healthcare expenses, which shall be itemized and, to the extent applicable, coded according to generally accepted medical billing practices" |
| A sale of the account | If the provider sells the accounts receivable to a third party "at less than the invoice price", the name of the third party and "the dollar amount for which the third party purchased such accounts receivable" |
| The referral | "Whether the claimant was referred for treatment under a letter of protection or other similar arrangement and, if so, the identity of the person who made the referral" |
Why these items matter at trial
The same statute limits medical damages to “the reasonable value of medically necessary care, treatment, or services” (§ 51-12-1.1(b)) and preserves each side’s right to challenge “the reasonableness of medical and healthcare expenses” and “the medical necessity of any treatment” (§ 51-12-1.1(f)). The discoverable LOP information is evidence on those questions: for example, the price a third party paid for the account bears on what the care was worth, and the referral bears on why that provider was chosen.
Which cases the rule reaches
Section 7 of Senate Bill 68, which enacted § 51-12-1.1, applies “only with respect to causes of action arising on or after the effective date of this Act” (§ 9(b)). The 2025 legislative summary records the effective date as April 21, 2025. For a claim that arose earlier, prior law governs.
Discovery of a sold account was already possible under the general discovery statute, § 9-11-26(b)(1). In Omni Healthcare, LLC v. Stacy Young Excavation, Inc. (Ga. Ct. App. Sept. 30, 2025), a medical factoring company had bought two crash plaintiffs’ accounts from their treating providers, and the defendants sought what it paid. The Court of Appeals held that “the pricing information is relevant to bias, intent, or motive”, and, quoting its earlier decision in Medernix, LLC v. Snowden (2024), that such amounts “may have some relevance” to the reasonableness and necessity of the charges. It affirmed most of the trial court’s discovery orders and reversed or vacated parts of one.
Before agreeing to treat under an LOP
- Get a copy of the letter and keep it with your records.
- Ask the provider for itemized, coded bills as treatment goes on.
- Ask whether the provider sells its accounts to a third party, and to whom.
- Note who suggested the provider, since the referral is discoverable.
When you have health insurance, the jury also hears what the insurance contract would pay; see how health insurance affects medical damages after the 2025 reform. How provider and hospital liens are paid out of a settlement is explained in how medical liens affect your settlement.
Sources
- Senate Bill 68 (2025), as passed, LC 49 2362S, §§ 7, 9.
- Georgia General Assembly, 2025 Summary of General Statutes Enacted, entry for Act 9 (SB 68).
- Omni Healthcare, LLC v. Stacy Young Excavation, Inc., No. A25A1411 (Ga. Ct. App. Sept. 30, 2025)
General information about Georgia law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.