HB649: HB649 Insurance; coverage for comprehensive maternal mental health screening and care; provide

Georgia currently has no statewide requirement that insurers cover maternal mental health screening or that doctors screen pregnant and postpartum patients for depression and anxiety. This bill, called the Georgia Maternal Mental Health Improvement Act, would change that in two ways. First, it adds a new section to Georgia's insurance code (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-28) requiring every health benefit policy issued or renewed in the state to cover medically necessary maternal mental health screening during pregnancy and up to 12 months after birth, plus treatment for anyone who screens positive, in person or by telehealth. Second, it adds a new Medicaid section (O.C.G.A. § 49-4-159.5) requiring screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders at specific visits, such as the first prenatal visit and the six-week postpartum checkup, unless the patient refuses. It also directs the Department of Community Health to run quality metrics, a three-year telehealth pilot program for high-risk and rural patients, and annual reports from 2026 through 2028. The whole Act only takes effect January 1, 2026, and only if the legislature specifically appropriates funding for it.

• Requires all health benefit policies issued or renewed in Georgia to cover medically necessary maternal mental health screening during pregnancy and for 12 months postpartum, plus follow-up treatment.
• Requires Medicaid providers to screen pregnant and postpartum women for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders at set points, including the first prenatal visit and the six-week postpartum visit, unless the patient refuses.
• Removes the right to refuse screening for patients a provider determines to be mentally incompetent.
• Directs the Department of Community Health to create a quality metrics program tracking screening rates, treatment access, and disparities by race and geography.
• Establishes a three-year pilot program for remote (telehealth) maternal mental health screening focused on high-risk and rural populations, to start by January 1, 2026.
• Makes the entire Act contingent on the General Assembly specifically appropriating funds for it before the January 1, 2026 effective date.

Pregnant and postpartum women in Georgia, health insurers and the plans they issue, obstetric and pediatric healthcare providers, Medicaid recipients and providers, and the Department of Community Health, which would run the new screening, reporting, and pilot program requirements.

If funded, more pregnant and postpartum women in Georgia would receive mental health screenings covered by insurance or Medicaid, potentially catching depression or anxiety earlier, especially in rural areas served by the new telehealth pilot. Because the law only takes effect with a specific appropriation, its real-world impact depends on future budget decisions.

• Section 3 adds O.C.G.A. § 33-1-28, requiring insurance coverage for maternal mental health screening and related treatment, applicable to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 49-4-159.5, listing six required screening points for Medicaid patients, from the first prenatal visit through a pediatric visit at three months.
• Section 4(f) requires the Department of Community Health to track process, outcome, equity, and patient experience measures related to screening and treatment.
• Section 4(g) creates a three-year pilot program for remote maternal mental health screening in high-risk and rural communities, to begin no later than January 1, 2026.
• Section 4(i)-(j) requires the department to write implementing rules and report annually to legislative health committees from July 1, 2026 through July 1, 2028.
• Section 5 makes the entire Act's effectiveness contingent on the General Assembly appropriating specific funds for it before January 1, 2026.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
3. 2025-02-27House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-26House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-26House Hopper (House)

• Karen Bennett (D, HD-094)Primary sponsor
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)

• maternal health
• mental health screening
• health insurance coverage
• Medicaid
• postpartum depression