(The Center Square) — State lawmakers have introduced legislation to expand a loan forgiveness program for the state’s mental health care providers.
House Bill 520 would also allow state agencies to collect and share data in line with federal and state law.
Last year, Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed House Bill 1013, the Mental Health Parity Act. The legislation, pushed by former House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, followed a multi-year study by the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform & Innovation Commission and included an additional $180 million in the fiscal 2023 budget for mental health initiatives.
“We know that workforce deficiencies are at the heart of many of the problems all our businesses and all our social services are facing this year and will for the immediate future,” state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, said during a press conference. “…We want more of the mental health service providers to be able to take advantage of the $10 million we appropriated last year, and if they are serving people in Georgia but still have a student loan, we want them to apply and get the benefits.”
During the press conference, state Rep. Todd Jones, R-South Forsyth, said the legislation would include a study of how many inpatient behavioral health beds the state has and develop a definition of severe mental illness that all agencies would use.
“I can assure you it is critical that every agency, when they say a particular phrase or phraseology, they understand what the other one is saying, and to understand the difference between mental illness and severe mental illness is critical,” Jones said.
HB 520 also allows state lawmakers to appropriate fiscal 2024 funds for crisis services in Fulton, Laurens and Muscogee counties.
“Today, we begin the next chapter of our ongoing commitment to better mental health care in Georgia,” House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said during a press conference.
The Georgia Council for Recovery lauded lawmakers for introducing the bill in a statement.
“There is no issue under the Gold Dome more important than Behavioral Health,” Jeff Breedlove, the group’s chief of policy, said in the statement. “Peers and families impacted by these medical issues need and deserve policy and funding to professionally address the issue and save lives.”
By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor
