Top 10
| Bills | Committee | Last action | Date |
| HB 1446 - Orrock - Certified nursing facilities; minimum staffing standards, administrative sanctions. | (H) Committee on Appropriations (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0482) | 03/24/23 |
| notes: Sets nursing staffing requirements for certified nursing facilities, imposes administrative sanctions on a certified nursing facility if it does not comply with the staffing requirements, and provides for exemptions to the administrative sanctions under certain circumstances. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. | |||
| HB 1452 - Orrock - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; appointment of sworn unit investigators to Unit, powers and duties. | (H) Committee on Appropriations (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0619) | 03/26/23 |
| notes: Allows the Attorney General to designate up to 30 persons in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit as sworn unit investigators, with the power to investigate allegations of (i) fraud in the State Medical Assistance Plan; (ii) abuse and neglect of adults; (iii) misappropriation of a patient's private funds while in the care and custody of others; and (iv) any criminal offense ancillary to such allegations. The bill defines sworn unit investigators as law-enforcement officers eligible for Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System benefits and allows the Attorney General or his designee to request that the Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services exempt a sworn unit investigator from compulsory minimum training standards for law enforcement officers on the basis of prior experience. The bill grants the Attorney General authority to issue identification and uniforms designating sworn unit investigators as law-enforcement officers, including use of the seal of the Commonwealth. | |||
| HB 1458 - Ballard - Geriatric prisoners; conditional release. | (H) Committee on Public Safety (S) Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services | (S) Passed by indefinitely in Rehabilitation and Social Services (9-Y 5-N) | 02/17/23 |
| notes: Expands the list of offenses that prohibit a person from petitioning the Parole Board for conditional release as a geriatric prisoner. | |||
| HB 1564 - Watts - Nursing homes; standards of care, administrative sanctions. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions | (H) Left in Health, Welfare and Institutions | 02/07/23 |
| notes: Requires regulations establishing the staffing and care standards in nursing homes to require a minimum number of hours of direct care services to each resident per 24-hour period, which minimum increases in specified phases from 3.5 hours to 4.1 hours. The bill gives the Commissioner of Health the power to impose administrative sanctions on nursing homes and directs the Board of Health to promulgate regulations related to the criteria and procedures for the imposition of administrative sanctions or initiation of court proceedings for violations of the bill. The bill establishes the Long-Term Care Services Fund for the purpose of making grants to assist in the provision of activities that protect or improve the quality of care or quality of life for residents, patients, and consumers of long-term care services. | |||
| HB 1594 - Gooditis - Multijurisdictional community services boards; health insurance coverage for employees. | (H) Committee on Appropriations | (H) Left in Appropriations | 02/07/23 |
| notes: Adds employees of community services boards that serve more than one locality to the definition of "state employee" for the purpose of allowing such employees to be eligible for the health insurance coverage provided to state employees by the Department of Human Resource Management. | |||
| HB 1596 - Delaney - Prescription Drug Affordability Board and Fund; established, report, drug cost affordability review. | (H) Committee on Commerce and Energy | (H) Left in Commerce and Energy | 02/07/23 |
| notes:
Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth, state and local governments, commercial health plans, health care providers, pharmacies licensed in the Commonwealth, and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. The bill directs the Governor to appoint the members and alternate members of the Board and requires the Board to meet in open session at least four times annually, with certain exceptions and requirements enumerated in the bill. Members of the Board are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, as described in the bill. The bill also creates a stakeholder council for the purpose of assisting the Board in making decisions related to drug cost affordability. The bill tasks the Board with identifying prescription, generic, and other drugs, as defined in the bill, that are offered for sale in the Commonwealth and, at the Board's discretion, conducting an affordability review of any prescription drug product. The bill lists factors for the Board to consider that indicate an affordability challenge for the health care system in the Commonwealth or high out-of-pocket costs for patients. The bill also provides that any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may request an appeal of the Board's decision and that the Attorney General shall have authority to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill also creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Fund to be used for funding the operations of the Board and reimbursing state agencies for implementing the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly twice annua |
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| HB 1602 - Robinson - State plan for medical assistance services; telemedicine, in-state presence. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (S) Committee on Education and Health | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0112) | 03/21/23 |
| notes: Establishes that health care providers are not required to maintain a physical presence in the Commonwealth to maintain eligibility to enroll as a Medicaid provider. Additionally, the bill establishes that telemedicine services provider groups with health care providers duly licensed by the Commonwealth are not required to maintain an in-state service address to maintain eligibility to enroll as a Medicaid vendor or Medicaid provider group. | |||
| HB 1754 - Head - Telemedicine; practitioner-patient relationship, continuity of care. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (S) Committee on Education and Health | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0150) | 03/22/23 |
| notes: Allows patients who have an established relationship with a practitioner who is a member of a health maintenance organization or multispecialty group to receive services from a practitioner who is a member of the same multispecialty group via telemedicine without undergoing another in-person exam within the specified time period and increases the specified time period from one year to three years. The bill increases from one year to three years the period during which psychologists and clinical social workers who are licensed outside the Commonwealth and who meet certain criteria may provide behavioral health services via telemedicine to a patient located in the Commonwealth. | |||
| HB 1782 - O'Quinn - Health insurance; ensuring fairness in cost-sharing. | (H) Committee on Commerce and Energy | (H) Left in Commerce and Energy | 02/07/23 |
| notes: Amends provisions related to rebates provided by carriers and health benefit plans to health plan enrollees by defining defined cost-sharing, price protection rebates, and pharmacy benefits management services. The bill requires that an enrollee's defined cost-sharing for each prescription drug shall be calculated at the point of sale based on a price that is reduced by an amount equal to at least 80 percent of all rebates received or expected to be received in connection with the dispensing or administration of the prescription drug. | |||
| HB 1798 - Simonds - Comprehensive plan; healthy communities strategy. | (H) Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns | (H) Left in Counties, Cities and Towns | 02/07/23 |
| notes: Authorizes cities with populations greater than 20,000 and counties with populations greater than 100,000, beginning July 1, 2023, to consider, at the next and all subsequent reviews of the comprehensive plan, adopting a healthy communities strategy. The bill provides that the locality's strategy may include identifying neighborhoods with major sources of pollution or hazardous waste and identifying objectives and policies to reduce health risks in such neighborhoods, to promote civic engagement by residents of such neighborhoods, and to prioritize improvements and programs that address the needs of such neighborhoods. | |||
| HB 1874 - Helmer - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; applying to participate or renewal. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions | (H) VOTE: DEFEATED (45-Y 54-N) | 02/07/23 |
| notes: Prohibits the Board of Social Services from requiring persons applying to participate or renewing their participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to appear in person. The bill also codifies the Department of Health's authority to implement a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC program), which is currently authorized by regulation, and prohibits the Department of Health from requiring persons applying to participate or renewing their participation in the WIC program to appear in person. | |||
| HB 1906 - Hope - Auxiliary grants; independent community living. | (H) Committee on Appropriations | (H) Left in Appropriations | 02/07/23 |
| notes: Allows the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to provide auxiliary grants to eligible recipients residing in independent community living, as defined in the bill, under conditions set forth in the bill. The bill directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to, if deemed necessary, amend the state plan for medical assistance services and any waivers thereof to implement the provisions of the bill and limits to no more than 200 the number of auxiliary grant recipients in independent community living. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024, and directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to adopt emergency regulations to implement its provisions. | |||
| HB 2049 - Bennett-Parker - Polling place; assistance for certain voters, definition of disability. | (H) Committee on Privileges and Elections | (H) Left in Privileges and Elections | 02/07/23 |
| notes: Limits the entitlement of voters with disabilities to vote outside the polls to those whose disability prevents them from entering the polling place. Expands the definition of disability for purposes of providing assistance outside of a polling place to voters with disabilities to include any permanent or temporary disability. Under current law, the disability is limited to a permanent or temporary physical disability. | |||
| HB 2099 - Bulova - Livable home; increases allowable tax credit. | (H) Committee on Appropriations (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0444) | 03/23/23 |
| notes: Increases from $1 million to $2 million, beginning in fiscal year 2024, the aggregate cap of tax credits allowed by the livable home tax credit in a fiscal year. The bill increases from $500,000 to $1 million, beginning in fiscal year 2024, the amount of credits allocated by the Department of Housing and Community Development to each of (i) the purchase or construction of new residences and (ii) the retrofitting and renovation of existing residences. The bill also increases from $5,000 to $6,500, beginning in taxable year 2023, the maximum amount of livable home tax credits an individual may claim in a taxable year. | |||
| HB 2190 - Rasoul - Managed care organizations; data collections and reporting requirements, report. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (S) Committee on Education and Health | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0335) | 03/23/23 |
| notes: Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to include in its contracts with managed care organizations provisions that require the managed care organization to collect and report to the Department data regarding (i) the number and percentage of claims that are denied and the reasons for such denials and (ii) the number and percentage of claims that required resubmission prior to payment and the reasons for such resubmissions. The bill requires the Department to (a) examine such data and identify barriers that providers encounter when accepting and treating patients enrolled in the state plan for medical assistance services and (b) report such data and analysis by October 1 of each year to the Joint Commission on Health Care and the Joint Subcommittee for Health and Human Resources Oversight. | |||
| HB 2219 - Tran - Health records privacy; consumer-generated health information. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions | (H) Left in Health, Welfare and Institutions | 02/07/23 |
| notes: Requires certain entities that collect, gather, or use consumer-generated health information, defined in the bill, to take reasonable measures to safeguard the such aggregated health data, including (i) adopting technical and organizational measures to ensure that consumer-generated health information is not linked to any individual, household, or device used by an individual or a household; (ii) committing not to attempt to re-identify or associate the aggregated health data with any individual, household, or device used by an individual or a household; and (iii) requiring that recipients of all transfers of aggregated health data uphold the same commitments. The bill provides civil remedies for violations of consumer-generated health information privacy. | |||
| HB 2344 - Head - Adult protective services; referrals to local law enforcement. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (S) Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0487) | 03/24/23 |
| notes: Removes the requirement that the adult protective services hotline immediately refer certain reports of alleged adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation to the appropriate local law-enforcement agency and removes the duty of local law-enforcement agencies to provide the adult protective services hotline with a preferred point of contact for such referrals. The bill retains the requirement for the local department of social services to immediately refer such reports to the appropriate local law-enforcement agency and the duty of local law-enforcement agencies to provide local departments of social services with a preferred point of contact for such referrals. | |||
| SB 957 - Petersen - Prescription Drug Affordability Board and Fund; established, drug cost affordability review, etc. | (H) Committee on Commerce and Energy (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (H) Left in Commerce and Energy | 02/22/23 |
| notes:
Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. The bill directs the Governor to appoint the members and alternate members of the Board and requires the Board to meet in open session at least four times annually, with certain exceptions and requirements enumerated in the bill. Members of the Board are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, as described in the bill. The bill also creates a stakeholder council for the purpose of assisting the Board in making decisions related to drug cost affordability. The bill tasks the Board with identifying prescription, generic, and other drugs, as defined in the bill, that are offered for sale in the Commonwealth and, at the Board's discretion, conducting an affordability review of any prescription drug product. The bill lists factors for the Board to consider that indicate an affordability challenge for the health care system in the Commonwealth or high out-of-pocket costs for patients. The bill also provides that any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may request an appeal of the Board's decision and that the Attorney General shall have authority to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill also creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Fund to be used for funding the operations of the Board and reimbursing state agencies for implementing the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly twice annually, beginning on July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. Finally, the bill contains a severability clause and |
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| SB 987 - Mason - Guardianship and conservatorship; periodic review hearings. | (H) Committee on Appropriations (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0595) | 03/26/23 |
| notes: Requires the court to set up a schedule for periodic review hearings in the order of appointment of a guardian or conservator, unless the court makes a determination that such hearings are unnecessary or impracticable. The bill further provides that any periodic review hearing shall include the following assessments by the court: (i) the likelihood that the respondent's condition will improve or the respondent will regain capacity, (ii) whether concerns or questions were raised about the suitability of the person appointed as a guardian or conservator at the time of the initial appointment, and (iii) whether the appointment of a guardian or conservator or the appointment of the specifically appointed guardian or conservator was contested by the respondent or another party. | |||
| SB 1218 - Mason - Aging, Commonwealth Council on; membership and staff support. | (H) Committee on Rules (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0583) | 03/26/23 |
| notes: Reduces from 24 to 16 the number of members to be appointed to the Commonwealth Council on Aging by (i) replacing the requirement that the membership include one member from each of the 11 congressional districts of the Commonwealth with the requirement that the membership include one member from each of the eight regions of the Commonwealth identified by the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Pin its Virginia Regional Map (2017); (ii) adding the Executive Director of the Virginia Center on Aging and removing the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources as ex officio members; and (iii) reducing from four to two the number of members to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the Senate Committee on Rules, respectively. The bill authorizes the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to employ a person to facilitate the duties of the Council. | |||
| SB 1223 - Obenshain - Vulnerable adults; financial exploitation, venue for trial. | (H) Committee for Courts of Justice (S) Committee on the Judiciary | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0330) | 03/23/23 |
| notes: Provides that, in addition to the county or city in which any act was performed in furtherance of the offense or the accused resided at the time of the offense, venue for the trial of an accused charged with financial exploitation of vulnerable adult may be in any county or city in which (i) the vulnerable adult resides or resided at the time of the offense or (ii) the vulnerable adult sustained a financial loss as a result of the offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference. | |||
| SB 1242 - Obenshain - Geriatric prisoners; conditional release, review hearings. | (S) Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services | (S) Passed by indefinitely in Rehabilitation and Social Services (8-Y 6-N) | 02/03/23 |
| notes: Directs the Parole Board to review annually all petitions for geriatric conditional release. The bill provides that the Parole Board may, however, defer subsequent hearings for up to three years if an initial hearing was held and the petition for conditional release was denied. The bill also requires that, in situations in which a person who is otherwise eligible for parole under current law also files a petition for geriatric conditional release, the Parole Board conduct the reviews for such parole and conditional release at a single hearing. | |||
| SB 1270 - Edwards - Managed care organizations; data collections and reporting requirements, report. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (S) Committee on Rules | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0336) | 03/23/23 |
| notes: Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to include in its contracts with managed care organizations provisions that require the managed care organization to collect and report to the Department data regarding (i) the number and percentage of claims that are denied and the reasons for such denials and (ii) the number and percentage of claims that required resubmission prior to payment and the reasons for such resubmissions. The bill requires the Department to (a) examine such data and identify barriers that providers encounter when accepting and treating patients enrolled in the state plan for medical assistance services and (b) report such data and analysis by October 1 of each year to the Joint Commission on Health Care and the Joint Subcommittee for Health and Human Resources Oversight. | |||
| SB 1301 - Deeds - Managed care health insurance plan licensees; network adequacy for mental health care services. | (S) Committee on Commerce and Labor | (S) Passed by indefinitely in Commerce and Labor with letter (14-Y 0-N) | 02/06/23 |
| notes: Requires each managed care health insurance plan licensee (licensee) to (i) provide a sufficient number and mix of services, specialists, and practice sites to meet covered persons' mental health care needs; (ii) ensure that covered persons have telephone access 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to responsible and knowledgeable mental health care practitioners capable of assessing the covered persons' conditions and, as necessary, providing for appropriate services; and (iii) incorporate strategies into its access procedures to facilitate utilization of the licensee's mental health care services by covered persons with physical, mental, language, or cultural barriers. The bill requires a managed care health insurance plan licensee to cover out-of-network mental health care services to a covered person if (a) the licensee does not have a mental health care provider within its network capable of providing mental health care services to the covered person; (b) the majority of the managed care health insurance plan licensee's mental health care providers within 25 miles of a covered person or, if appropriate for the covered person, available via telemedicine who have experience treating the general age group of a covered person are no longer accepting new patients or have wait-lists to receive care; or (c) the managed care health insurance plan licensee does not have a mental health care provider within 25 miles of a covered person or, if appropriate for the covered person, available via telemedicine who (1) has experience or expertise in treating patients who share the emotionally distressing experiences, defined in the bill, or demographics of the covered person seeking care and (2) is capa | |||
| SB 1339 - Barker - Certified nursing facilities; minimum staffing standards, administrative sanctions. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0483) | 03/24/23 |
| notes: Sets nursing staffing requirements for certified nursing facilities, imposes administrative sanctions on a certified nursing facility if it does not comply with the staffing requirements, and provides for exemptions to the administrative sanctions under certain circumstances. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. | |||
| SB 1407 - Vogel - Assisted living facility; regulations for facilities with fewer than 25 residents. | (S) Committee on Rules | (S) Passed by indefinitely in Rules (15-Y 1-N) | 02/03/23 |
| notes: Requires the Department of Social Services to amend regulations affecting assisted living facilities with fewer than 25 residents to meet adjusted requirements for staff training and for the minimum age for staff employment. | |||
| SB 1421 - Pillion - Adult protective services; referrals to local law enforcement. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (S) Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0488) | 03/24/23 |
| notes: Removes the requirement that the adult protective services hotline immediately refer certain reports of alleged adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation to the appropriate local law-enforcement agency and removes the duty of local law-enforcement agencies to provide the adult protective services hotline with a preferred point of contact for such referrals. The bill retains the requirement for the local department of social services to immediately refer such reports to the appropriate local law-enforcement agency and the duty of local law-enforcement agencies to provide local departments of social services with a preferred point of contact for such referrals. | |||
| SJ 252 - Hanger - Celebrating the life of the Honorable Jane Haycock Woods. | (S) Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ252ER) | 01/30/23 | |