SB 440: Department of Public Health; provisions relative to duties or functions; modernize and update

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of Georgia's public health, insurance, and mental health laws to remove programs and committees state officials say are outdated, while adding a few new requirements.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.

• 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.

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.

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.

• 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.

1. 2026-04-02House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2026-04-02House Third Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2026-03-20House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2026-03-18House Withdrawn, Recommitted (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2026-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2026-02-25House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2026-02-24House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
8. 2026-02-20Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senado)

• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)Patrocinador principal
• 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)

1. AprobadaVotación: Senado20 de febrero de 2026

   31 a favor, 20 en contra (0 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

   Adoption Of Amend #1b By Sen From The 19th To Amend #1 By Sen From The 41st: Senate Vote #562

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado20 de febrero de 2026

   31 a favor, 20 en contra (0 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

   Adoption Of The Amendment By The Sen From The 41st As Amended: Senate Vote #563

3. AprobadaVotación: Senado20 de febrero de 2026

   51 a favor, 0 en contra (0 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

   Passage As Amended: Senate Vote #564

4. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes2 de abril de 2026

   98 a favor, 76 en contra (1 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #847

• public health agency reform
• ivermectin access
• mental health insurance parity
• health insurance credentialing
• cancer programs repeal