State lawmakers passed legislation Thursday aimed at limiting the kinds of lawsuits that can be brought against mental health providers, weathering a late addition proposed in the Senate.
House Bill 1409 would reduce the liability of mental health providers, except in cases of negligent hiring or retention by a mental health facility. It also would limit punitive damages against mental health care workers unless the claimant proves the provider showed “willful and wanton misconduct, reckless infliction of harm, or intentional infliction of harm.”
“I think this bill strikes the right balance of making sure that those who need mental health services can find care in our state while also protecting those people in these facilities,” said Sen. Brian Strickland, a Republican from McDonough who sponsored the bill in his chamber.
Democratic Sen. Elena Parent of Atlanta said she would support the bill, but not “without a bit of a sense of unease.”
“I do feel that the hearts of some of those supporting this legislation are in the right place,” she said. “The reality, though, is there really is no evidence out there that simply moving ahead with a tort reform component would cause any long-term, meaningful change in access to mental health care beds and inpatient mental health facilities over the long term.”
To truly impact the system, Parent said the state needs to address “severe deficits” in the financial system for support, increase payment for staff and expand Medicaid.
Sen. Ben Watson, a Republican from Savannah, introduced an amendment to HB 1409 that would have allowed new, free-standing outpatient care facilities to open as long as the cost of construction is under $10 million and that would also weaken state regulation of such facilities. But the Georgia House passed the bill 165-3 without that amendment.
Advocates for rural hospitals had rejected easing rules to establish outpatient facilities, also known as ambulatory surgical centers, or ASCs, saying that they pull money and patients away from hospitals, which are required to provide care for everyone.
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