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.
- 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: