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Panel approves bill requiring perinatal mental-health screenings through one year postpartum
Summary
A House committee passed a substitute for House Bill 649 (LC461202S) to require mental-health screening for pregnant people and those up to one year after birth; the measure cites professional society guidance and would require an annual report to the General Assembly.
Representative Bennett presented the substitute for House Bill 649 (LC461202S), which would require mental-health screening for pregnant women and for postpartum people through one year after birth. Bennett told the committee the measure responds to high maternal mortality in Georgia and a Department of Public Health report that identified mental-health conditions as a leading preventable cause of perinatal death.
The substitute includes definitions for maternal mental-health conditions and for mental-health screenings and cites clinical recommendations from the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Nurse Midwives and the American Academy of Pediatrics on appropriate screening intervals.
Representative Hughley asked who would receive the annual report and Bennett responded that the Department of Public Health would develop the report and it would be delivered to the General Assembly. Representative Taylor asked whether these screenings are already covered by insurance; Bennett said patients may decline services but the bill asks that screenings be offered. Jesse Wellington, president of the Georgia Association of Health Plans, told the committee the measure’s language in section 3 aligns with current practice and "these services are, by and large, already provided under coverage" and that using nationally accepted clinical practice guidelines fits current carrier behavior.
Representative Scott moved that the bill pass. After a second, the committee approved the substitute by voice vote; individual yeas and nays are not recorded in the transcript. The committee chair declared the bill passed.
What’s next: The committee-approved substitute carries LC461202S. The bill would require the Department of Public Health to produce an annual report to the General Assembly on screening results and implementation; specifics on implementation funding and detailed screening intervals would be determined in follow-up rulemaking or guidance.
