Mental Health Initiatives

House Bill 1013, passed and signed into law in 2022, expanded OHSC's role in overseeing the coordination of mental health policy and behavioral health services across state agencies. Specifically, OHSC is tasked with developing and recommending solutions to systemic barriers or problems impeding the delivery of behavioral health services and with establishing specific goals designed to improve behavioral healthcare access, quality, and outcomes.

OHSC is currently working on the following initiatives related to mental health:

Mental Health Reform Action Plan: OHSC partnered with Accenture to create the Mental Health Reform Action Plan in 2021 for implementation of the recommendations included in the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission's (BHRIC) first year report.
Prescription Drugs: House Bill (HB) 1013 tasked OHSC with developing recommendations for a unified Preferred Drug List (PDL) for mental health and substance use disorder prescriptions covered by Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids and a unified formulary for mental health and substance use disorder prescriptions covered by the State Health Benefit Plan.
- OHSC Unified Drug List Study for Medicaid and SHBP
- OHSC Unified Drug List Study for Medicaid and SHBP Appendices
Emergency Transportation: HB 1013 tasked OHSC with conducting a survey or study on the transport of individuals to and from emergency receiving, evaluation, and treatment facilities (ERETs). OHSC has partnered with the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government to conduct this study.

Additional resources:

Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission

The Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, created pursuant to House Bill 514 during the 2019 Georgia Legislative Session, is charged with conducting a comprehensive review of the behavioral health system in Georgia to include:

Behavioral health services and facilities in the state;
Identification of behavioral health issues in children, adolescents, and adults;
The role the educational system has in the identification and treatment of behavioral health issues;
The impact behavioral health issues have on the court system and correctional system;
Legal and systemic barriers to treatment of mental illnesses;
Workforce shortages that impact delivery of care;
Whether there is sufficient access to behavioral health services and supports and the roles of payers in such access;
The impact on how untreated behavioral illness can impact children into adulthood;
The need for aftercare for persons exiting the criminal justice system; and
The impact of behavioral illness on the state's population.

Reports and materials:

The commission contains five subcommittees: Children and Adolescent Behavioral Health; Involuntary Commitment; Hospital and Short-Term Care Facilites; Mental Health Courts and Corrections; and Workforce and System Development.