Georgia CommonsSB 440: Department of Public Health; provisions relative to duties or functions; modernize and update
Last action April 2, 2026 · House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
A wide-ranging Senate bill would strip outdated committees and reporting duties from the Georgia Department of Public Health, let pharmacists dispense ivermectin without a prescription under new rules, and create a new panel to review complaints about mental health insurance parity violations.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
This bill rewrites large parts of Georgia's public health, insurance, and mental health laws to remove programs and committees state officials say are outdated, while adding a few new requirements. It repeals the Electronic Database Review Advisory Committee, the Cancer Advisory Committee and cancer control officer position, the Georgia Commission for Saving the Cure, the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Education Act, the Arthritis Prevention and Control Program, and a pilot home-visitation program for pregnant women, among others. It also cuts several standing reports the Department of Public Health had to file with the legislature on topics like neonatal abstinence syndrome and AIDS/HIV brochures for marriage license applicants. The bill adds a new exception letting pharmacists dispense ivermectin as a behind-the-counter drug to adults after a screening, with rules set by the State Board of Pharmacy. It requires health insurers to adopt a standardized credentialing application and approve completed applications within 45 days. It also creates a parity compliance review panel inside the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council to review complaints that insurers are violating mental health parity laws and recommend penalties. The changes take effect July 1, 2026.
What the bill does
- Repeals or reserves several Department of Public Health advisory bodies and programs, including the Electronic Database Review Advisory Committee, the Cancer Advisory Committee, the cancer control officer position, the Georgia Commission for Saving the Cure, and the Arthritis Prevention and Control Program.
- Adds an exception letting pharmacists dispense ivermectin to adults 18 and older as a behind-the-counter drug after a good-faith patient screening, with rules set by the State Board of Pharmacy.
- Removes several standing legislative reporting requirements for the Department of Public Health, including on neonatal abstinence syndrome and a pregnancy home-visitation pilot program, and makes some remaining reports contingent on state funding being appropriated.
- Requires health insurers to adopt a standardized credentialing application (a form verifying a provider's licenses and training) and approve complete applications within 45 days, phased in by July 1, 2027.
- Creates a parity compliance review panel within the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council to receive provider complaints about insurers violating mental health parity laws and recommend penalties.
- Repeals the marriage-license requirements that couples receive AIDS/HIV brochures, sickle cell disease information, and a state marriage manual before getting a license.
Who it affects
The Department of Public Health, its advisory committees and staff, prescribers and pharmacists who use the prescription drug monitoring database, pharmacists and adult patients seeking ivermectin, probate court marriage-license applicants, health insurers and the healthcare providers they credential, and mental health patients and providers who may report parity violations.
Why it matters
Georgians would see fewer state reports and advisory boards overseeing public health programs, adults could get ivermectin from a pharmacist without a doctor's prescription, couples applying for marriage licenses would no longer get state-prepared health brochures, and patients with mental health insurance complaints would have a new state panel to flag suspected parity violations by insurers.
Key provisions
- Section 1-1 through 1-3 removes the state board's power to rescind PDMP violation penalties and drops certification testing requirements for the prescription drug monitoring database.
- Section 1-4 lets pharmacists dispense FDA-approved ivermectin to adults 18+ as a behind-the-counter product after screening for drug interactions, with rules from the State Board of Pharmacy.
- Sections 1-5 through 1-7 repeal requirements for AIDS/HIV brochures, sickle cell disease information, and a marriage manual to be given to marriage license applicants.
- Section 1-9 eliminates reporting requirements for entities authorized to administer auto-injectable epinephrine (EpiPens).
- Sections 1-10, 1-14 through 1-18, 1-20, 1-21 repeal or reserve the home-visitation pilot program, neonatal abstinence syndrome reporting, the Cancer Advisory Committee and cancer control officer, the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Education Act, the Georgia Commission for Saving the Cure, and the Arthritis Prevention and Control Program.
- Section 2-1 requires health insurers to use a standardized credentialing application, approve complete applications within 45 days, and fully implement the system by July 1, 2027.
- Section 3-2 creates a new parity compliance review panel (O.C.G.A. § 37-2-12) to evaluate provider complaints about mental health insurance parity violations and recommend punitive action to the Commissioner of Insurance or the commissioner of community health.
From the bill
“When dispensed by a pharmacist to a patient 18 years of age or older, and following a good-faith patient assessment that includes screening for contraindications, current medications, and potential drug interactions”
“Every health insurer shall approve complete credentialing applications from healthcare providers within 45 days of receipt of any such application if submitted in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the department.”
“Health care providers shall be required to report suspected violations by health insurers of the mental health parity requirements”
Status timeline
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)
Show full history (13 actions)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
- Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
- Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
- Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
- Rob Clifton (R, HD-131)
Votes
- Senate voteFebruary 20, 2026
31 yea, 20 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)
- Senate voteFebruary 20, 2026
31 yea, 20 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)
- Senate voteFebruary 20, 2026
51 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)
- House voteApril 2, 2026
98 yea, 76 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)
Topics
- public health agency reform
- ivermectin access
- mental health insurance parity
- health insurance credentialing
- cancer programs repeal