Two years ago, state lawmakers backed a landmark proposal that was touted as the first step in a multiyear effort to lift Georgia from the bottom of the nation's rankings for access to mental health services. We rallied.
The push stalled last year when additional legislation stalled in the Senate. met with opposition It came under attack from far-right activists and was later embroiled in end-of-session barter between the two chambers.
Some provisions such as detailed provisions Pay attention to the service gap Within the state's safety net, it ended up being implemented administratively without legislative backing. But other items, such as a proposal to shore up the state's busy behavioral health workforce, would have to wait a year.
This time, lawmakers in both chambers were able to put together several smaller bills containing provisions designed to build on the 2022 law and send them to the governor's desk.
Instead of thick, sprawling bills like the previous two, at 77 and 51 pages, mental health reform advocates this year introduced a rapid succession of bite-sized proposals. This is in addition to new funding for mental health included in the budget, including strengthening the state's behavioral health crisis system.
The mental health-related suggestions in this session were so rich and varied that it was sometimes difficult to keep track of them.
“The momentum in mental health continues,” NAMI Georgia Executive Director Kim Jones said at one point during the session. “I always tell people, 'The great thing about this year is that we have so many mental health claims. The hard thing about this year is that we have so many mental health claims.'
Many of the bills passed with bipartisan support. But one couple found themselves in even more trouble during an election year session, when they took over the Senate to advance controversial proposals, including one late in Congress. ban puberty blockers For transgender minors.
House members used legislative maneuvering to revive one of their suspended proposals.Another proposal would require opioid antagonists to be stored in most state and local government buildings. invoice Allowing naloxone in K-12 schools.
Some measures remained inadequate. A bill aimed at addressing student-athlete mental health and suicide risk never recovered from that shift. Means of culture war proposal In the Senate.
the other was stagnant invoice This would have allowed for an alternative means of disciplinary action for nurses dealing with substance use disorders and mental conditions. Such programs already exist for doctors, pharmacists, and dentists. The bill easily passed the House, but stalled in the Senate, and a last-gasp attempt to port it to other bills in the House failed.
“There may be a barrier, so to speak, that prevents nurses from coming in and saying, 'I have a problem,'” said Savannah Republican Rep. Ron Stevens, a pharmacist who sponsored the bill. “And of course that's not what we want in the health care field. And of course I believe this will remove that barrier and make it more likely that people who are having problems will come forward to get help.” ”
Much of this year's mental health efforts focused on strengthening Georgia's behavioral health workforce. speed up Licensing process for relocating or providing services for marriage and family therapists in good standing in other states. loan forgiveness For mental health and substance use professionals working in underserved or severely affected communities.
“Unfortunately, what's missing is the workforce and mental health care providers,” said Sen. Larry Walker III, a Perry Republican who sponsored one of this year's bills. “So if we don't have access to qualified mental health professionals, all the efforts we've made will be in vain.”
another invoice Pending the governor's attention, and some remnants of last year's failed measures, it will likely ramp up the state's efforts to provide prison-based competency programs.
“I have heard many times that there are cases where people spend more time in prison waiting to be declared competent to stand trial than actually going to prison if they are found guilty of the crime they are charged with. ” said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough.
Other bills took steps aimed at expanding access to treatment.
Provided in the medical field that is attracting attention invoice Exempts new or expanded psychiatric facilities or inpatient substance abuse programs from regulations intended to limit the number of services in a geographic area.
Another bill on the governor's desk would repeal discriminatory zoning laws. Currently, if a health care provider wants to open a new treatment facility or intermediate facility in Georgia, local zoning applications require an additional six to nine month review period.
Critics of the provision say it is a discriminatory requirement that creates barriers for health care providers seeking to provide treatment at a time when the state is working to improve services in part in response to the opioid crisis. are doing. They also argue that additional waiting periods violate federal laws that protect people served by these facilities.
They had no trouble convincing lawmakers that the law needed to be removed from Georgia's books.
“It's the right thing to do. We don't need extra time to turn people against and incite them,” said Rep. Dale Washburn, a Macon Republican. invoice.
But efforts to provide health insurance to hundreds of thousands of low-income Georgians again fell short this year. Mental health advocates are working with others to pressure lawmakers to fully expand Medicaid in hopes of giving more people access to doctors and mental health care. was. After all, Republican leaders paid with a fee We will continue to consider expanding Medicaid this year.
Georgia is one of 10 states that has not fully expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
“We believe that by closing gaps in insurance coverage, we will not only help the people we serve with mental health conditions, but we will also prevent people from experiencing mental health disorders. “We're working hard,” Jones said.
Advocates say this year's package of mental health bills represents progress, even if the phased approach means narrowing the bill on several fronts.
“It's like a Lego wall,” said Roland Boehm, director of the Georgia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and co-founder of the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership. “In the past, we tried to sell Lego walls and we were successful in 2022. And he is in 2023, and to be honest, we weren't as successful as we would have liked.
“So what you saw (this year) was an effort to say, 'Okay, this is the red brick.' Here's the yellow brick. Here's the green button. Here's the black brick.”
Jeff Breedlove, advocacy strategist at the Restore Georgia Council, said he believes the 2022 law will serve as a foundation for ongoing efforts.
“So what we've done is take Georgia, which was basically at the bottom of any poll, and killed HB 1013 and said, 'Never again,'” Breedlove said in February 2022. He said this while referring to the 2011 law.
“And now, with the success of HB 1013, we will continue to build systematically, holistically, and inclusively with diverse perspectives over the next few years, ensuring that our workforce is secure and licensed.” “We will be able to transform our communities and deliver more services in more areas,” he said. “It will take time, but that revolution, that transformation, will happen in Georgia in 2024.”
