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Archives: Bills

EmPATH unit pilot program

HB 109 proposes a five-year pilot program to create Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing (EmPATH) units in hospitals across Georgia. These units are designed to help people experiencing mental health crises by providing immediate, short-term treatment in a hospital-based setting. The goal is to offer an alternative to emergency rooms and inpatient hospitalization for individuals in crisis.


Equal Athletic Opportunities Act (House version of the Senate’s proposed ban on transgender athletes)

HB 104 would ban transgender students in middle school through college from participating in school sports that align with their gender identity.    The bill bans transgender students from using shared spaces, such as bathrooms or locker rooms, based on their gender identity. The bill would also legally define “sex” as a student’s biological sex, as defined by their birth certificate.


Annual reporting requirement for the amount of prescription drug rebates applied to premium reductions for the State Health Benefit Plan

HB 101 would require yearly public reports on prescription drug discounts and savings (i.e., prescription drug rebates) for the state employees’ health insurance plan, which covers state workers and public school teachers. The report would show how much of the savings from these drug discount programs was used to reduce premiums in the State Health Benefit Plan. The savings would be detailed in both dollar amounts and percentages. The bill also removes any outdated laws that might conflict with these changes.


Requires health insurers to cover fertility preservation services for individuals undergoing treatment for cancer, sickle cell disease, or lupus that may impact fertility

HB 94 would require state-regulated health plans to cover fertility preservation services for people undergoing medical treatments for cancer, sickle cell disease, or lupus that could lead to infertility. These services include procedures like freezing eggs, sperm, or embryos to help individuals have children in the future. The bill also sets guidelines and limits for what insurance must cover, such as evaluation costs, medications, and one year of storage for reproductive cells. Limits include restrictions based on age and the number of procedures covered.


Requires health care providers, health care facilities, and pharmacies to provide the Maternal Mortality Review Committee with psychiatric or other clinical records

HB 89 aims to improve how the state of Georgia collects information on maternal deaths and provides care for mothers and babies. It gives the Maternal Mortality Review Committee more access to patient records, including mental health and pharmacy records, to better understand why mothers pass away during pregnancy or childbirth. The bill also creates a Regional Perinatal Center Advisory Committee, which will help make sure hospitals and doctors have the right resources to care for high-risk pregnancies and births. Lastly, the bill simplifies the process for investigating the deaths of pregnant women, so medical examiners don’t always have to go through a regional perinatal center unless special circumstances require it.


Interstate Compact for School Psychologists

HB 81 would allow Georgia to join the Interstate Compact for School Psychologists. This compact makes it easier for school psychologists to work in different states by simplifying the licensing process. It also helps address the shortage of these professionals in schools. The bill creates a commission to manage the compact. It also sets rules for sharing information, handling discipline issues (for school psychologists, not students), solving disputes, and how states can join or leave the compact. The goal is to give students better access to school psychologists while still allowing each state to set its own licensure requirements.


Public Health, Department of; Maternal Mortality Review Committee

The bill updates the law authorizing the Maternal Mortality Review Committee in three ways: 1) Gives the Department of Public Health the power to define the length of the terms that members of the MMRC serve; 2) Limits the reasons that MMRC committee members can be removed to Inability or neglect to perform the duties, incompetence, or dishonest conduct; and 3) specifies that MMRC members must comply with the federal Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPPA).


School Behavioral Health Support Act

HB 24 creates a grant program to expand mental health and substance use supports in schools. Grantees must serve all students regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay but are required to seek insurance reimbursements for services when available.


Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Department of; create and maintain electronic inpatient psychiatric bed registry

HB 19 establishes an electronic registry of inpatient psychiatric beds to improve access to mental health care. The registry will be accessible to authorized users, including the Georgia Crisis and Access Line.


Private Review Agents; health insurers to implement and maintain a program that allows for the selective application of reductions in prior authorization requirements

SB 5 requires health insurers to implement a program allowing selective reductions in prior authorization requirements for providers who meet specific criteria. Providers can avoid or reduce future prior authorization requests from insurers by adhering to evidence-based medicine and performance benchmarks set by insurers.This type of program is sometimes called “gold carding.”


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