Georgia lawmakers passed sweeping changes to the state’s flagging mental health care system Wednesday after reaching Senate-House agreement on language aimed at forcing health insurers to pay for mental health and substance abuse treatment.
House Bill 1013 flew to final passage with a 54-0 vote in the Senate and a 166-0 vote in the House, then was headed to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature or veto.
“Hope won,” House Speaker David Ralston, who spearheaded the measure, told the House as members gave him a standing ovation after the vote. “Countless Georgians will know that we have heard their despair and frustration. We have set Georgia on a path to lifting up and reforming a failed mental health care system.”
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