HB520 would make multiple changes to Georgia’s mental-health and other healthcare laws. However, the bill includes provisions that would expand the size of government while also allowing governmental weaponization of “mental health.” For example, it would cost nearly $72 million annually, not including an additional $3.7 million to be spent within one year. A major portion of these costs would be to pay for the largest Medicaid expansion in Georgia’s history, and the bill would also require taxpayers to pay off student loan debts for students majoring in mental-health-related fields. Additionally, HB520 would give broad discretion to unelected bureaucrats. For example, despite claiming that one of its purposes is “to standardize terminology relating to serious mental illness,” the bill doesn’t define “serious mental illness” — it requires the Department of Community Health to create its own definition.
The Georgia State House of Representatives passed HB520 on March 2, 2023 by a vote of 163 to 3. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this is a giant expansion in the size of government by adding new programs (in this case, a significant Medicaid expansion) and allocating substantial funds for it to pay for more unelected bureaucrats.