CHICAGO -- Consumer representatives praised state insurance regulators for urging Congress to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, and encouraged the regulators to keep up the pressure during a…
Blog
Legislative update: Week 9
The GHF team loves bringing you these weekly legislative updates, and you have told us that you enjoy reading them! Our team works hard to deliver this service to you in a complete and accurate way every week of Georgia’s legislative session. If you rely on these updates to keep you connected to the health happenings under the Gold Dome, please consider supporting our work with a donation today. Thank you very much! |
In this week’s update:
- House passes the Mental Health Parity Act!
- A check-in on the state budget and Crossover Day is Tuesday!
- Bills you may not have seen yet
- Legislation on the move!
- GHF’s got you covered this session!
MENTAL HEALTH PARITY ACT PASSED THE HOUSE!
The Georgia Mental Health Parity Act passed the House last week!
The Georgia Mental Health Parity Act (GMHPA) passed the House last Tuesday with an overwhelming & bi-partisan 169-3 vote. The bill has been referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, and will receive its first Senate hearing today, March 14th, at 3pm.
The GMHPA is a big bill so the Senate HHS committee will likely hold several hearings before voting on it. While our Senators hear and debate the bill, you can help. Call or email committee members and ask them to keep “parity” in the Georgia Mental Health Parity Act.
Parity means fair or equal. It’s time for health insurance companies to play fair. The Georgia Mental Health Parity Act would put in place strong, fair rules so Georgians get the mental health & addiction coverage we need (and pay for).
Want to do more?
- Share this fact sheet about the GMHPA with your networks
- Tell your Senator that you support the GMHPA and they should too.
PROGRESS ON BOTH BUDGETS
Tomorrow is Crossover Day!
Crossover Day is the 28th day of the Georgia legislative session, which falls on March 15th this year. Crossover Day is the day by which a bill must be passed from the House or Senate to the opposite chamber to remain viable. Bills that do not meet the Crossover Day deadline are officially “dead.” Since this is the second year of the two-year session, any bill that doesn’t crossover must be reintroduced next session. Expect a flurry of activity from the legislature before Tuesday’s deadline!
After tomorrow’s Crossover Day votes, we’ll provide a full update about which bills were approved to move forward, and which bills were left on this session’s cutting room floor. Look for that full rundown in next week’s legislative update email!
Amended budget goes to the Governor; House passes FY23 budget
The Georgia House of Representatives gave its final approval to this year’s updated state budget (amended FY22 budget) on Wednesday. With approvals from the House & the Senate, the amended FY22 budget now goes to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
On Thursday, the House Appropriations committee released its version of the FY23 budget, which will begin on July 1, 2022. The House made some important additions to the Governor’s budget recommendations. Check out our February 28th legislative update for a reminder about what the budget already included. Here are a few changes that the House made:
- $4.5 million to extend Medicaid to uninsured, low-income individuals living with HIV. This funding would pay for the costs of HB 1192, if it is passed by the Senate.
- $1.2 million to extend Medicaid coverage to some lawful, permanent residents. Under current Medicaid policy, lawful permanent residents are only eligible for coverage after a 5-year waiting period. The Department of Community Health will apply for an 1115 waiver to eliminate the waiting period, as 35 other states have done.
- $800,000 to continue implementation of Georgia’s All-Payer Claims Database. This database is a powerful tool that can help policymakers, advocates, and health care industry stakeholders, develop better understandings of health care costs, use of services, population health trends, and disparities. You can keep up with the development of Georgia’s APCD here.
- $127,000 to create a new Mental Health Parity Coordinator position in the Department of Insurance. This position will ensure insurance companies are covering mental health and substance use for their members in fair and transparent ways.
The House approved its version of the FY23 budget on Friday. The Senate Appropriations subcommittees began meeting this morning to consider the FY23 budget.
LEGISLATION YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN
Grant program to establish primary care facilities in shortage areas
HB 1042, sponsored by Rep. Rick Jasperse and would create a grant program to establish primary care facilities in areas with shortages of primary care providers. The grant program would be operated by the OneGeorgia Authority. Local government bodies (called development authorities) would be eligible to apply for the grants. The grants can be used to establish a doctor’s office or other primary care medical facility. The development authorities would then partner with one or more primary care providers (dentist, doctor, or mental health provider) to operate the primary care facilities. After 10 years, the development authority could choose to turn the ownership of the facility over to the primary care providers directly.
HB 1042 passed out of the House last Tuesday and has been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.
Bill to develop the Rural Health Advancement Commission
HB 1371 would create the Rural Health Advancement Commission. The purpose of this commission is to look at “private-sector solutions” to address health and long-term care workforce shortages, with an emphasis on rural areas. The solutions may include collaborations between health care systems and educational institutions.
The commission’s members would include a Dean of a medical college, a rural facilities a rural physician, the director of the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center, nurses, a representative from an area health education center, hospital leaders, and a public health professional, among others.
HB 1371 passed out of the House last Wednesday. It hasn’t yet been referred to a Senate committee.
Senate bill adds mental health & substance use to Georgia’s Surprise Billing & Consumer Protection Act
SB 566, introduced by Senators Dean Burke and Chuck Hufstetler, would update the Surprise Billing and Consumer Protection Act. These updates include:
- Clarifying that emergency mental health and substance use care is covered under the Surprise Billing & Consumer Protection Act.
- This update means that a person who goes to the emergency room for a mental health or substance use treatment would be protected from “surprise” out-of-network bills, even if they are at an out-of-network hospital. (These protections do not apply to facilities outside of a hospital.)
- Adding a reference to the new federal surprise billing law. The reference narrows when post-stabilization care is protected from surprise billing.
Why are these updates important?
Surprise medical bills can take a big financial toll on a family and are one of the leading drivers of medical debt. Adding MH/SUD crises treatment to the list of covered emergency services will ensure that these conditions are protected from surprise billing just as a physical health emergency is.
SB 566 has passed out of the Senate HHS Committee. The Senate Rules committee will decide if it receives a vote on the Senate floor before tomorrow’s Crossover Day deadline.
LEGISLATION THAT’S MOVING
House approves bills on primary care facilities, prescription drugs coverage in Medicaid, & health care workforce shortages. Grant program to establish primary care facilities in shortage areas
If these bills look familiar, it’s because we’ve covered them in previous legislative updates (which you can always find on our blog). With so many bills on the move in the legislature, here’s a reminder about what’s in HB 1351 and HB 1404.
Pharmacy benefits management moved to be handled by the Dept. of Community Health
HB 1351, sponsored by Representative David Knight, passed out of the House last week. The bill would reform the way that prescription drugs are covered within Georgia’s Medicaid program. Currently, each Medicaid insurer sets its own list of covered medications (called a drug formulary). HB 1351 would instead require the Deprtment of Community Health (DCH) to create a central shared drug formlary that all Medicaid insurers would use. Rep. Knight says that this change would save the Georgia Medicaid program $3.9 million, streamline access to medicine for Medicaid members and providers, and make Medicaid more transparent.
HB 1351 was approved by the House last week. It has not yet been referred to a Senate committee.
Allowing certain inpatient mental health & addiction recovery facilities to be reimbursed by Medicaid
HB 1404, introduced by Representative Robert Pruitt, would direct the Georgia Department of Community Health to apply for a federal waiver for institutions for mental diseases (IMDs) to receive Medicaid reimbursement. IMDs are in-patient mental health or substance use recovery facilities with 16 or more beds. Current federal regulations bar Medicaid from covering treatment at IMDs because of our country’s cruel history of institutionalizing people with mental illness.
Thirty-two (32) states have a version of this waiver so that their Medicaid members can access in-patient (or residential) substance use or mental health services.
Rep. Pruitt’s bill would do the same, opening up access to inpatient mental health and/or substance use treatment for Georgians covered by Medicaid. You can learn more about IMD reform here from our partners at the Legal Action Center.
HB 1404 was approved by the House HHS Committee. The House Rules committee will decide if the bill gets a vote on the floor before the end of Crossover Day.
GHF has you covered!
Stay up-to-date with the legislative session
GHF will continue monitoring legislative activity on a critical consumer health care issues. Along with our weekly legislative updates and timely analysis of bills, we have the tools you need to stay in touch with health policy under the Gold Dome.
- Sign up for the Georgia Health Action Network (GHAN) to receive action alerts that let you know when there are opportunities for advocacy and action
- Remind yourself how the legislative process works
- Catch up with our 2021-2022 policy priorities
- Track health-related legislation on GHF’s website
- Find or contact your legislators on our website
- Write a letter to the editor about a legislative issue that’s important to you
Stay Connected
GHF In The News
Archive
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- October 2023
- July 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- June 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- July 2014
- May 2014
- March 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009