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Request a DemoA year after passage, more is happening with the Mental Health Parity Act than you think.
A year after HB 1013, the landmark bipartisan legislation known as the Georgia Mental Health Parity Act, went into effect, some important initiatives aimed at expanding treatment for people in Georgia with mental health and addiction issues are moving forward. Other initiatives have been stalled by funding challenges and clashing political priorities of state leaders.
What’s Happening
The Mental Health Parity Act of 2022 is designed to broadly expand services to ensure people with mental health or addiction issues are treated by public and private health insurers the same as physical health conditions. The 76-page act includes a number of short-term and longer-term initiatives.
State Affairs took a selective look at areas of progress on the Parity Act and found that progress has been made in several areas, including access, workforce development, involuntary commitment, with the courts and corrections and with child and adolescent behavioral health.
It’s important to note that HB 520, another ambitious mental health bill introduced last session that was a sequel of sorts to HB 1013 and which many behavioral health reform advocates considered to be critical to its implementation, did not pass. Some Republicans balked at HB 520’s annual cost, estimated by Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget director to be between $60 million and $72 million.
And while overall state funding for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) increased by 8% to $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2024, $104 million in line items to support behavioral health and parity efforts were vetoed or “disregarded” by the governor in May, leaving their fate in limbo.
Why It Matters
The Act calls for private and public health insurers to provide parity in coverage for mental health and addiction, in accordance with federal law. Insurers must now provide data and comparative analysis reports on how they handle behavioral and physical health claims to the state insurance commissioner each year, to prove that they’re applying equal standards.
Overseeing that process is Simone Edmonson, an insurance industry veteran, who was appointed in March as Mental Health Parity officer, a new position created by the Act within the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner.
Her office is also tasked with creating a new parity complaints process and web portal for people with insurance through their employers. As of now, such complaints can still be made on the main Department of Insurance website.
Edmonson’s initial report on parity compliance by insurers is due to the governor and legislature in August. Meanwhile, the Department of Community Health is working on a similar parity complaints process and website for people who are insured through public health insurance programs, including Medicaid and PeachCare. That process is required to be completed by the end of July.
Eve Byrd, director of Mental Health Programs for the Carter Center, said her team has made some recommendations for improving the insurance department’s new site, “so that it's more consumer-friendly and includes language accessibility, which is mandated in the Parity Act.”
Other areas seeing some progress are:
- Workforce Development
As of 2021, some 150 out of 159 counties in the state were considered mental health care professional shortage areas — 77 counties had no psychiatrists working full-time, 76 counties did not have a licensed psychologist, and 52 had no licensed social worker.
One way the Parity Act addresses this deficit is to incentivize people to pursue behavioral health careers by helping to pay off their student loans. The Georgia Student Finance Authority has created a service cancellable loan program, which launches this fall. Starting in November, students pursuing graduate degrees in qualifying behavioral health professions can apply for up to $20,000 in student loans per year, for a maximum of $120,000 over 6 years.
- Involuntary Commitment
HB 1013 removed the requirement that a person who is mentally ill must be in the process of committing a crime in order for law enforcement to transport that person to a physician or emergency room for a mental health evaluation. Now officers can do so if they have probable cause to believe the individual is mentally ill, requiring involuntary treatment, and have consulted with a physician.
The Parity Act created a three-year grant program to test the efficacy of five outpatient involuntary commitment programs, which provide one-on-one clinical and peer support to help keep people on their meds, out of crisis and out of jail. DBHDD reported in June that three of the programs were at least partly staffed and operating.
As of the end of May, compared to the 12 prior months, crisis events among the 40 patients served had decreased to eight from 61, psychiatric inpatient admissions fell to five from 71, arrests decreased to five from 51, and days in jail dropped to 145 from 1,048.
- Mental Health Courts & Corrections
The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council set up a grant program for accountability courts to serve the mental health and addiction population.
The Georgia Public Safety Training Center has added behavioral health co-responders to law enforcement and other occupations to which they provide facilities and training.
DBHDD reported in June that it had funded nine co-responder programs pairing mental health providers and law enforcement agencies throughout the state, with one full-time clinician per site. The programs were not yet operating.
- Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health
The mandate of the Multi Agency Treatment for Children (MATCH) team, which includes leaders from the Family and Children Services (DFCS), juvenile justice, public health, education, and corrections departments, is to “facilitate collaboration across state agencies to explore resources and solutions for complex and unmet needs of children,” with a focus on children and teens with serious mental illnesses.
- The MATCH team members, appointed in March, are meant to “use their shared expertise to cut through the red tape among agencies and find a workable solution,” said Kim Jones, executive director of the Georgia chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
The legislature appropriated $1 million for their work this year. But in late May, those funds were disregarded by Kemp in his budget veto report, which Jones said has “devastated” many child and behavioral health advocates.
- Medicaid Spending
A mandated study of Medicaid reimbursement rates for behavioral health providers in Georgia, compared with several other states, is still being conducted by the Department of Community Health. DBHDD Commissioner Kevin Tanner said a preliminary study shows that DCH should recommend at least a 40% increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for Georgia providers to the federal Medicaid agency, to make compensation more competitive and to address the severe shortage of mental health crisis workers.
What’s Next
While work on the Mental Health Parity Act will continue for several years, legislators and behavioral health advocates are planning for another run at mental health reform legislation next year. They’re also hoping to restore vetoed funding for three behavioral health crisis centers, salary increases for state psychiatric hospital staff, and a housing voucher program for the mentally ill.
Mary Margaret Oliver, a lead sponsor of both mental health bills, recently wrote on her blog, “These budget cuts, in my view, derail Georgia's forward movement on mental health reform, and I and many others are scrambling to regroup and figure out how to make the money reappear for needed services.”
Byrd, of the Carter Center, said, “I don't know what the strategy is going to be moving forward, but I don't think we're going to be able to continue to have these great, big, huge omnibus bills that are 80 pages long. We’re going to have to be more specific and kind of address the elephant one bite at a time.”
She said the mental health advocacy community is “going to be very much focused on payment of services, network adequacy and workforce, and particularly on payment of services for children at risk and in the welfare system.”
Contact Jill Jordan Sieder on Twitter @JOURNALISTAJILL or at [email protected].
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New middle Georgia House district up for grabs due to influential incumbent’s departure
The Gist
For the first time in over a decade, voters in parts of middle Georgia’s Bibb and Houston counties will vote for a new state House representative.
House District 143 is a newly redrawn district that now extends from Macon to Warner Robins. That redistricting prompted the departure of longtime incumbent Rep. James Beverly, D-Macon. His term ends in January.
Democrat Anissa Jones and Republican Barbara Boyer are vying for Beverly’s seat. Both are uncontested in the primary.
The two appear on the May 21 primary ballots, but the primary is, in effect, a dress rehearsal for the Nov. 5 general election because neither has a primary opponent.
Jones is a chiropractor who has held numerous seats on civic and local government boards. Boyer is a retired attorney who now runs an antique shop. Georgia is an open primary state, meaning voters can choose the party ballot they wish to vote for.
What’s Happening
House Minority Leader Beverly announced in March he would not seek re-election, in part, because his district had been redrawn. A federal judge ordered state lawmakers to redo their electoral maps because they diluted Black voting power.
Before the remapping, House District 143 was largely Democrat, majority Black and consisted primarily of Macon County. The redrawn district now includes parts of Macon and extends 20 miles south to Warner Robins and remains majority Black.
Boyer, a political newcomer, said Republicans asked her to run because of her legal background. She sees the redistricting as good for middle Georgia.
“Macon and Warner Robins have always sort of been merged together in a lot of ways, and I just don’t see there’s a problem with it.”
The new House district, for example, now includes parts of nearby Houston County, which has “a pretty good school system,” Boyer said.
“I’m interested in how they run their school system compared to how Bibb County runs theirs,” she added. “Our [Macon-Bibb] district really needs a lot of help with their school system.”
If elected, Boyer said she would work to improve education, curb crime and bring more businesses to middle Georgia.
“I think I cross party lines pretty good,” she said. “I have a lot of Democratic friends and a very diverse group of friends. So I think I have a better chance of getting some Democrat and independent votes.”
Jones is a Macon native. She is the former vice chair of the Macon Water Authority Board, an alum of Leadership Macon and a past president of the Main Street Macon Board.
Jones did not return calls from State Affairs for comment.. Her top issues include public safety, economic development and more investment in infrastructure, according to her website.
Why It Matters
The winner of House District 143 will fill a vital seat that Beverly has held since 2011. He often advocated for legislation addressing health inequities, including a last-minute proposal by state Democratic leaders to expand Medicaid.
The Peach Care Plus Act would have let the state get a federal waiver to buy private health insurance for people who make around $20,000 a year. The measure failed. Beverly, a Macon optometrist, also pushed for legislation that would reduce maternal mortality among Black women.
He also led the Democrats’ effort to pass the Safe at Home Act, a bipartisan bill to protect tenants’ rights. The bipartisan bill requires rental properties to be “fit for human habitation.” Landlords must give three days’ notice and can’t shut off cooling before an eviction. Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law in April.
Beverly said his decision to leave was also based on the likelihood that Democrats will not win a majority in the 180-member House.
In addition to Beverly’s departure as House minority leader, the Senate also will lose its minority leader, Sen. Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain. She has served since 1999. The two are among 16 legislators who are retiring. Most of the 236-member Georgia General Assembly will be running for office, many unopposed.
What’s Next?
Early voters casting ballots in person have until Friday at 5 p.m. Poll officials, however, have the discretion to keep the polls open until 7 p.m., a Georgia Secretary of State official said. Polls will reopen Tuesday, primary election day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Residents voting in Tuesday’s primary can check their precinct location here.
Boyer and Jones will face each other in the Nov. 5 general election. The winner will succeed Beverly, who will leave office in January.
Meet the House District 143 primary candidates
Barbara Boyer
Age: 68
Residence: Macon
Occupation: Retired attorney who now owns an antique store in Macon. “I love to stay busy.”
Party affiliation: Republican
Top issues: Improving education, attracting more businesses and addressing public safety, especially encroaching crime.
Campaign cash on hand: $600 as of May 7
Family: She and husband Wesley, a bankruptcy attorney, have a daughter and granddaughter
Dr. Anissa Jones
Residence: Macon
Occupation: Chiropractor
Party affiliation: Democrat
Top issues: Public safety, economic development, more investment infrastructure.
Campaign cash on hand: $30,679.92 as of May 6
Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
All you need to know heading into the May 21 primary
Gist
Georgia’s primary is only days away, and there’s a lot to unpack.
The May 21 primary will be the first time some Georgians will be voting in new districts for state and congressional candidates. They’ll also be voting in local races for sheriff, judges, school board or county commission members. Primary winners who have challengers will go on to compete in the Nov. 5 general election. Georgia is an open primary state, meaning voters can choose the party ballot they wish to vote for.
This year, Georgians who voted by absentee ballot in the primary could face challenges due to mail delivery delays.
What’s Happening
North Georgia and metro Atlanta are seeing significant mail delivery delays. The holdup, according to media reports, appears to be at the United States Postal Services’ new Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Palmetto. The problem has led to dangerous situations in which people are not getting critical medication.
Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff recently grilled USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on the delays. Ossoff told DeJoy during an April 16 hearing that on-time delivery rates were abysmal. He said 66% of outbound first-class mail had been delivered on time while 36% of inbound mail had been delivered on time in the past three months.
DeJoy blamed the problem on the difficulty in condensing operations at the facility.
With the approaching primary, state lawmakers are concerned mail delays could disrupt the election process.
Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for the Secretary of State, told State Affairs that Georgia voters are ready.
“Georgia voters are already registered,” he said. “They know how they like to vote. More than half of them vote early. About 5% vote absentee by mail, just in general, and then the rest are voting on election day. So we’ve been able to set up systems that are familiar with Georgia voters so that the percentage who might be worried about their absentee-by-mail ballots are relatively small.”
Why It Matters
Georgia emerged as one of the country’s most important political battleground states during the 2020 election. The Peach State will once again play a key role in deciding who wins the 2024 presidential election in November.
In the May 21 primary, Georgia voters will whittle down their choices for whom they’ll send to Congress and to the state capitol next year.
Under a federal court-approved redistricting process last year, Georgia now has new congressional and state district electoral maps. Those maps created one majority Black seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, five new majority-Black districts in the state House and two in the state Senate.
The redistricting resulted in new seats, intriguing matchups and former politicians returning to the fray. You can see the newly drawn maps here.
What’s Next?
Here’s what you need to know to ensure a smooth voting process:
To vote early.
Early voting is April 29 to May 17. Find your polling place here.
To vote absentee.
Here’s what you can do to avoid problems if you vote absentee:
- Get your absentee ballot application done early. You can request an absentee ballot here. (The registration deadline for the May 21 primary was April 22.)
- Track your application through Georgia BallotTrax. You must have a valid absentee request on file with your county board of elections to see your absentee ballot status in Georgia BallottTrax.
- If you’ve been having mail delays, place your completed absentee ballot in an official drop box during advanced voting instead of using the United States Postal Service. Check your county voter registration and election office for drop box locations. And, yes, your absentee ballot counts. It is counted in the final tally, not just close races.
- If you change your mind about voting absentee and decide to vote in person, take your absentee ballot to your local election office, where workers will void it.
- If you need to contact your county election office, find that information here.
Update: This story has been updated with the mail-in ballot registration deadline for the May 21 primary.
Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
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Education activist Beth Majeroni challenges state Sen. Ben Watson in GOP primary
The Gist In a rare primary challenge, incumbent Republican Sen. Ben Watson faces conservative education activist Beth Majeroni in the state Senate District 1 race in the Savannah area. Watson has run unopposed or handily defeated Democratic challengers in seven previous general elections and hasn’t faced a Republican challenger since 2010, when he won 65% …
Senate District 53 incumbent Colton Moore draws criticism, challengers in his re-election bid
Senate District 53 is in the far northwest corner of Georgia, home of Lookout Mountain, Civil War reenactments and conservative firebrand U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. It’s a mostly white and Republican working-class pocket of the state where some people identify more Tennessean than Georgian.
Like Taylor Greene, state Sen. Colton Moore gained national attention and made a name for himself in the district through the same type of incendiary politics.
Moore’s antics have drawn Republican challenger Angela Pence for the May 21 primary election. Democrat Bart Bryant will be on the primary ballot next week and will face the Republican primary winner in November’s general election.
Pence, in March, told State Affairs: “While Moore grandstands for retweets and shares, real crises in his district, like toxic water contamination in our schools and skyrocketing property taxes — due to an outdated education funding formula — have gone unaddressed.”
Moore’s predecessor, Jeff Mullis, is supporting Pence.
“He doesn’t represent his district very well,” Jeff Mullis, who represented Senate District 53 for 22 years before retiring in 2022, told State Affairs. “He has been in the House for two years and now in the Senate, and he has never passed a bill of any kind that is his. He can’t influence a bill. He can’t even pass gas.”
The Senate Republican Caucus kicked Moore out last September after he launched verbal attacks against fellow Republicans for refusing to go along with him in his call for a special session to take action against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Willis is prosecuting former President Donald Trump for election interference. Moore predicted a civil war if Trump doesn’t win in November.
Then, in March, the state House of Representatives banned Moore from the chamber after a tirade against the late Speaker of the House David Ralston.
Moore and Ralston crossed swords numerous times during Moore’s time in the House, where in 2018 he became the youngest elected official in Georgia history at 24, representing District 1. He was elected to the Senate in 2022.
Moore repeatedly voted against dozens of key bills in this year’s session, including ones involving child trafficking and law enforcement. He was the only senator to vote no on the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget, which included tax cuts.
“He’s refused to help his local communities, cities and counties when they’ve had a request,” Mullis said. “He’s stopped grants for the area because of his actions.”
State Affairs repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to reach Moore for a response and to learn of his legislative priorities if he were to win a second term in the Senate. He said in March that criminal justice reform was a priority.
Moore has said previously that he and his staff spend hours, sometimes days, reviewing legislation coming up for votes. He said he follows “a strict standard of principles.”
“When it comes to a piece of legislation, and in my opinion, any piece of legislation that misuses taxpayer money, it’s not the proper role of government. I typically vote against that,” Moore told State Affairs in March. “Bills that subdue individuals’ freedoms that shouldn’t be subdued, legislation that I think grants government power that it shouldn’t have, anything like that.”
Moore’s politics have been heavily influenced by the Georgia Freedom Caucus, for which he is the vice chair. It favors social conservatism and small government and opposes immigration reform.
Moore’s challengers say his behavior is keeping things from getting done in their district, which includes Chattooga, Dade, Walker and Catoosa counties. The district also includes northwest Floyd County and the unincorporated Floyd County community of Armuchee.
Democratic challenger Bart Bryant said Moore’s Ralston rant prompted him to run against the incumbent. Bryant planned to run against Taylor Greene but ceded the race to fellow Democrat Shawn Harris, a retired Army brigadier general.
“Mr. Colton Moore has zero respect,” said Bryant, an electrician living in Menlo. “That doesn’t represent me. We need to respect one another. I’m running on respect to start with.”
Bryant said issues in the district are going unaddressed, such as mental health and overcrowded jails. As a former sheriff’s deputy, he’d work to get better pay for law enforcement personnel.
Pence also did not respond to State Affairs for comment but in the March interview zeroed in on Moore’s performative representation.
“The people don’t need any more unhinged sideshows — they need someone who will roll up their sleeves, put in the real work and score concrete wins that positively impact their daily lives,” she said.
Pence is a former Libertarian who tried unsuccessfully to get on the Georgia ballot to run against Taylor Greene in 2022. The small-business owner believes in limited government as well as economic and individual freedom. She is a lifelong North Georgia mountain resident who homeschools her children.
Incumbent Colton Moore
Age: 30
Residence: Trenton
Occupation: auctioneer and truck driver
Party affiliation: Republican
Key platform issues: Criminal justice reform
Previous public service experience: Georgia House of Representatives from 2019 – 2021; Georgia Senate, January 2023-present.
Campaign cash on hand: $24,410.33**
Family: Information not available
**Data as of May 8. Information is from the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission
challenger angela pence
Age: Early 30s
Residence: Chickamauga
Occupation: Small-business owner
Party affiliation: Republican
Why I’m running: “I’m running to be the voice for ordinary citizens who want real results,” she told The Mountain-Valley Independent.
Key platform issues: She is anti-abortion.. She is against government funding of gender-affirming care for minors. She is an advocate for “true school choice” and will work to “remove government tape and ridiculous requirements so that we can get the power back into the hands of the educators.”
What is your advantage over the other candidates?: She plans to bring principled, effective leadership to a district that has gone unheard.
Previous public or community service experience: She has coached youth sports and is active in the local chamber of commerce as well as various civic and grassroots initiatives.
Campaign cash on hand: $1,701.65***
Family: Military wife and mother who homeschools her nine children.
***Data as of May 7. Information is from the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission
Challenger Bart Alexander Bryant
Age: 58
Residence: Menlo
Occupation: Electrician
Party affiliation: Democrat
Why I’m running: He says the incumbent’s behavior in the Legislature is disrespectful.
Key platform issues: Mental health issues: They’re “a problem statewide.” Second Amendment: “If you haven’t committed crimes and you want to own a firearm, you can own it.” Abortion rights: “I hate abortion but there’s a place for it in our society.” Better pay for law enforcement.
What is your advantage over the other candidates?: “I’ve worked a real job all my life. I kind of have my finger on the pulse of what the public talks about. [Being a senator is] not a real hard job. All you have to do is listen and vote appropriately. I’ll be able to communicate across the [political] aisle.”
Previous public or community service experience: He has been a longtime member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where he served as a shop steward, a liaison between union leaders and members. He is a former Chattooga County deputy sheriff. “Being a peace officer, you have to make some hard decisions.”
Campaign cash on hand: Bryant said he is financing his campaign with about $500 of his own money.
Family: Married to wife April for 36 years.
Have questions? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].