Political Rewind: Where Georgia stands with mental health; 988 line; Jody Hice in Fulton probe

Caption

Last legislative session saw progress in efforts to make mental health care more accessible to Georgians. More recently, federal rollout of 988, a new emergency line for mental health emergencies, promises to help Georgians.

The panel: 

Judy Fitzgerald, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

Monica Johnson, director, Division of Behavioral Health

Riley Bunch, @ribunchreports, public policy reporter, GPB News

Tamar Hallerman, @TamarHallerman, senior reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 

The breakdown: 

1. Bipartisan mental health bill seeks to improve Georgia's ranking on the issue.

• House Bill 1013, or the Mental Health Parity Act, was seen as a priority by House Speaker David Ralston. 
  • It was received by both Democrats and Republicans during an otherwise divisive legislative session. 
• The bill, which went into effect July 1, requirse all health insurance plans must cover mental health conditions on par with physical ones.

2. Importance of the 988 crisis line in Georgia. 

• GPB's Ellen Eldridge reported on the launch of the three-digit crisis line this weekend.
  • The 988 line is a part of a federal network.
    • Georgia already had a crisis line called G-CAL, which received around 800 calls per day.

3. Georgia faces challenges in recruiting mental health care professionals. 

• HB 1013 authorizes loan forgiveness for people studying to become mental health professionals.
• Fitzgerald highlights Gov. Brian Kemp's $5,000 increase to state employees as a recruitment tool. 

4. Which communities need the most help fighting the stigmas around mental health? 

• Rural suicides have increase 8.3% in Georgia, according to the latest data available.
• Monica Johnson says suicides increased within Georgia's Black population by 10% between 2019 and 2020. 

5. Tamar Hallerman fills us in on U.S. Rep Jody Hice fighting a subpoena. 

• The subpoena is from the Fulton County grand jury investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 election in the state.

Wednesday on Political Rewind: The AJC's Greg Bluestein joins our Wednesday panel.