Legislative Update
 
PUBLIC POLICY
&
ADVOCACY
Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterView our profile on LinkedIn
Logo

ADVOCACY UPDATE

 

February 25, 2013                                                                                       Issue 6.2013

 

Because there is no health without Mental Health!

TODAY IS THE 23RD DAY OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION

 

CROSS-OVER DAY (DAY 30) IS QUICKLY APPROACHING

 

SB 163 - Requires the Department of Community Health to study and identify options for Medicaid reform. This bill is sponsored by Senator William Ligon and
will be heard today in the Senate Health and Human Services committee in Room 450, CAP at 4pm.

HR 107 - Creates a Joint Study Committee on Medicaid Reform.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Donna Sheldon and seeks to review the sustainability of the current program and recommend changes by the end of the year. While the federal climate and other states are embracing Medicaid Expansion, Georgia is holding back. 

 

HB 205 - Sponsored by Rep. Edward Lindsey and called the Psychiatric Advance Directive Act.
The bill will "provide for a competent adult to express his or her mental health care treatment preferences and desires directly through instructions written in advance and indirectly through appointing an agent to make mental health care decisions on behalf of that person." This bill is being heard today in the Health and Human Services Committee in Room 606, CLOB at 3:00pm. 

 

HB 242 - Juvenile Justice Reform bill was introduced this year by Rep. Wendell Willard to modernize the juvenile code. 

The major goal of the bill is to provide community-based services for youth as the alternative to incarceration. Last year the session focused on Criminal Justice Reform for adults but left much needed reform to the juvenile justice system behind. 

 

SB 65 - Senator Renee Unterman sponsored this bill to expand the authority  of licensed professional counselors (LPCs) to certify that a person with a mental illness needs involuntary treatment. 

The Senate passed the legislation on February 11th by a vote of 51-2 and it is still waiting to be heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee. 

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

 

373, 000 Children and Adults Will Lose Vital Mental Health Services- Unless Congress Acts: Tell Your Legislators to Stop Sequestration.

 

373,000-That's the number of children and adults who will lose vital mental health services because of automatic budget cuts scheduled to take effect on March 1-unless Congress acts to prevent them.

 

The cuts - called a sequester - are required under the Budget Control Act of 2011, which required $1.2 trillion in across-the-board spending cuts from most federal programs over 10 years if a deficit reduction plan isn't reached. That would translate into a nine (9) percent cut from vital domestic programs.

 

To read more about this issue from Mental Health America's National Office, click here.

We need your help to move our advocacy voice forward! MHA of GA is a leader in the mental health advocacy community. You can learn more on our website, www.mhageorgia.org. 

 

Your donation will help ensure that MHA of GA continues to keep mental health awareness in front of Georgia's legislators. This is a critical time for our community, and now is the time to act!!

 

Click here to support mental health advocacy in the state of Georgia.