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Health

Passed

P HB10

Virginia Health Planning Board. Repeals the Virginia Health Planning Board, which has not been operating for many years, and authorizes the Board of Health to perform health planning functions. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission in furtherance of the objective to identify obsolete provisions of law pursuant to § 30-151.
Patron - Landes

P HB146

Reporting dangerous microbes and pathogens. Requires laboratories in the Commonwealth to report their inventories and changes of inventories of dangerous microbes and pathogens to the State Department of Health. The laboratories must also immediately report inventory that cannot be accounted for within 24 hours. The Board of Health is to determine the list of dangerous microbes and pathogens to be reported and the manner of such reporting.
Patron - Purkey

P HB153

Health; Hemophilia Advisory Board. Changes the composition of the Governor's Hemophilia Advisory Board to allow a representative of blood banks or licensed pharmacists.
Patron - Van Yahres

P HB396

Health; investigation of deaths. Adds patients or residents of state mental health or mental retardation facilities who have died to the list of those deaths that must be reported to the medical examiner of the locality in which the facility is located. A copy of the autopsy report must be provided to the Commissioner of and Inspector General for Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. The Department will pay the fee for such services.
Patron - Broman

P HB471

Regional health planning boards. Sets forth the terms and term limits for regional health planning boards and requires reporting and recording of their memberships. This bill also requires the Board of Health to designate the regional health planning agencies. No member will be appointed for more than two consecutive terms of four years each or, when appointed to fill an unexpired term of less than four years, for three consecutive terms consisting of one term of less than four years and two terms of four years. The Board of Health will require each regional health planning board to report and maintain a record of its membership, including, but not limited to, the names, addresses, dates of appointment, years served, number of consecutive and nonconsecutive terms, and the group represented by each member. The membership reports and records will be public information and must be published as a public record in accordance with the regulations of the Board.
Patron - Suit

P HB560

Health; pharmaceutical assistance. Expands the toll-free resource and referral program relating to pharmaceutical companies' free drug programs for indigents (so-called compassionate programs) to include information on pharmaceutical discount card programs and locations of Pharmacy Connect programs in the state.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB664

Bioterrorism. Requires the Board of Health to mandate reporting of diseases by physicians and laboratory directors that may be caused by exposure to an agent or substance that has the potential for use as a weapon and that the reports will be given directly to Commissioner or his designee using an emergency response system maintained by the Department of Health and operated 24 hours a day. This bill also modifies the present immunity from liability provision relating to required reports or disclosures of disease to provide that physicians and laboratory directors will be held to a reasonable professional standard for recognizing agents or suspecting the presence of any conditions and will be immune from liability when making reports in good faith without gross negligence and within the usual scope of his practice. The Board of Health's responsibility to conduct disease surveillance and investigation (such as contact tracing) is modified to require the Commissioner or his designee to immediately report any outbreak or occurrence of a disease identified as being caused by exposure to an agent or substance that has the potential for use as a weapon to the Department of State Police for investigation. The State Police will report these incidents to the local police chief or sheriff (with law-enforcement authority) or both in the jurisdiction in which the patient resides and where he received treatment. The State Police may also transmit the report to federal and military law-enforcement authorities. The State Police and local law-enforcement will immediately determine and implement the appropriate law-enforcement responses to the reports, according to their jurisdiction. These reports will be held confidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act; however, the reports will be maintained in the central repository already established by the Department of State Police. Further, the Department of State Police, and any local law enforcement official, may release all or part of any report made or other information obtained pursuant to this section (i) where the release of such report or information may assist in the prevention of imminent harm to public health or safety, or (ii) where the release of such report or information, with patient identifying information removed, may be useful for education of the public on health, safety or homeland defense issues. The Board of Health is also specifically authorized to develop procedures to respond to any bioterrorism.
Patron - Cox

P HB790

Children's health insurance programs. Permits a parent, legal guardian, authorized representative or any other adult caretaker with whom the child lives to file an application for a child with the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS).
Patron - Miles

P HB887

Acute care psychiatric and residential beds; children and adolescents; data collection and reporting. Requires the community policy and management teams, i.e., groups within the structure of the Comprehensive Services Act, to submit to the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services information on children under the age of 14 and adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17 for whom an admission to an acute care psychiatric or residential treatment facility (but not a group home) was sought but was not obtained. This information will be gathered from the family assessment and planning team or participating community agencies. The information to be submitted will include the child's date of birth, date of attempted admission, and the reason the admission could not be obtained. Further, identical information on failure to obtain admissions of children must be reported by the local mental health agencies to the Department. The Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services will also collect and compile data to ascertain (i) the total number of inpatient acute care psychiatric beds for children under the age of 14 and between the ages of 14 and 17, and (ii) the total number of residential treatment beds for children under the age of 14 and between the ages of 14 and 17, exclusive of group homes. The Department will report this data on a quarterly basis to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and the Virginia Commission on Youth. This bill is identical to SB 426.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB1062

Children's health insurance programs. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish agreements with the Departments of Education and Health to identify children eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch or services through the Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC) so that their eligibility for Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS) may be determined expeditiously.
Patron - Bland

P HB1080

Health; patient data reporting. Extends the sunset provision for health care data reporting from July 1, 2003, to July 1, 2008.
Patron - Brink

P HB1161

Mosquito control districts and commissions; emergency. Authorizes cities having more than one mosquito control district within their boundaries to consolidate such districts and commissions and organize the functions of the resulting consolidated commission under an appropriate city department or other agency. The consolidated city mosquito control commission may consist of no more than 15 commissioners, one of whom shall be the Commissioner or his designee who will chair the consolidated commission. Pursuant to the second enactment clause, this bill will be effective upon passage. Senate Bill 371 also includes these provisions.
Patron - Cosgrove

P HB1283

Certain disclosure of prehospital patient care reports. Authorizes each licensed emergency medical services agency to disclose the prehospital patient care report to law-enforcement officials when the patient is the victim of a crime, upon a determination that such disclosure is not in violation of the federal Department of Health and Human Services regulations relating to the electronic transmission of data and patient privacy promulgated as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. § 1320d et seq.). The Patient Health Records Privacy law is also amended to add this disclosure to the list of permissible releases of patient records. The new federal regulations, which become effective in April of this year but will not be enforced until April of next year, narrowly restrict the release of patient records in many situations. This bill is identical to SB 601.
Patron - Ingram

P HB1369

Divorce; vital records. Provides that the report required to be filed by the clerk of court with the State Registrar regarding a final decree of divorce or annulment not contain any statement indicating racial designation.
Patron - Van Landingham

P SB218

Newborn testing. Adds to the list of inherited disorders for which newborn testing is required by the Commonwealth, a fatty acid oxidation disorder known as MCAD or MCADH, i.e., medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, which inhibits the proper metabolism of stored fat. Individuals with MCAD, if left untreated, have episodes of hypoglycemia and Reye's syndrome, which may result in fever, vomiting, coma, disorientation, and fatty infiltration of the liver. Implementation of this test will require the purchase of tandem mass spectrometers, which are technologically advanced analytic instruments that can be used to test newborns for more than 20 treatable metabolic disorders by sorting molecules in blood samples according to weight in a similar fashion to machines that sort coins. This provision will only become effective one year after the date that sufficient funds are appropriated or otherwise secured to (i) support the Virginia Department of Health's costs for start-up professional and family education and (ii) the purchase of the necessary equipment for implementation of the testing program in the Division of Consolidated Laboratories.
Patron - Ticer

P SB264

Sharing of protected health information between state agencies. Declares the coordination of prevention and control of disease, injury, or disability and the delivery of health care benefits to be (i) necessary public health activities; (ii) necessary health oversight activities for the integrity of the health care system; and (iii) necessary to prevent serious harm and serious threats to the health and safety of individuals and the public. The Departments of Health, Medical Assistance Services, Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, and Social Services must establish a secure system for sharing protected health information that may be necessary for the coordination of prevention and control of disease, injury, or disability and the delivery of health care benefits when such protected information concerns individuals who (a) have contracted a reportable disease, including exposure to a toxic substance, as required by the Board of Health pursuant to § 32.1-35 or other disease or disability required to be reported by law; (b) are the subjects of public health surveillance, public health investigations, or public health interventions or are applicants for or recipients of medical assistance services; (c) have been or are the victims of child abuse or neglect or domestic violence; or (d) may present a serious threat to the health or safety of a person or the public or may be subject to a serious threat to their health or safety. Pursuant to the regulations concerning patient privacy promulgated by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, covered entities may disclose protected health information to the secure system without obtaining consent or authorization for such disclosure. Such protected health information will be used exclusively for the purposes established in this section. The Office of the Attorney General will advise the Departments of Health, Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, Social Services, and Medical Assistance Services in the implementation of this section. This provision also amends the patient health records privacy statute to note that providers may make subsequent disclosures of patient records as permitted under the federal Department of Health and Human Services regulations relating to the electronic transmission of data and patient privacy promulgated as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. In addition, providers may disclose the records of a patient as authorized by law relating to public health activities, health oversight activities, serious threats to health or safety or abuse, neglect or domestic violence or as necessary to the coordination of prevention and control of disease, injury, or disability and delivery of health care benefits pursuant to the secure system for sharing protected health information.
Patron - Lambert

P SB371

Mosquito control districts and commissions; emergency. Authorizes cities having more than one mosquito control district within their boundaries to consolidate such districts and commissions and organize the functions of the resulting consolidated commission under an appropriate city department. The consolidated city mosquito control commission may consist of no more than 15 commissioners, one of whom shall be the Commissioner or his designee who will chair the consolidated commission. Pursuant to the second enactment clause, this bill will be effective upon passage. HB 1161 is identical to this bill.
Patron - Blevins

P SB414

Health; dental scholarships. Adds requirement that recipients of conditional grants and loans from the Dentist Loan Repayment Program agree to participate in Medicaid and the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS) and that they not restrict the numbers of such clients admitted to their dental practice. These agreements are time-limited according to conditions of the contract and may be repaid in lieu of service. This is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.
Patron - Rerras

P SB426

Acute care psychiatric and residential beds; children and adolescents; data collection and reporting. Requires the community policy and management teams, i.e., groups within the structure of the Comprehensive Services Act, to submit to the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services information on children under the age of 14 and adolescents age 14 through 17 for whom an admission to an acute care psychiatric or residential treatment facility (but not a group home) was sought but was not obtained. This information will be gathered from the family assessment and planning team or participating community agencies. The information to be submitted will include the child's date of birth, date of attempted admission, and the reason the admission could not be obtained. Further, identical information on failure to obtain admissions of children must be reported by the local mental health agencies to the Department. The Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services will also collect and compile data to ascertain (i) the total number of inpatient acute care psychiatric beds for children under the age of 14 and adolescents age 14 through 17, and (ii) the total number of residential treatment beds for children under the age of 14 and adolescents age 14 through 17, exclusive of group homes. The Department will report this data on a quarterly basis to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and the Virginia Commission on Youth. This bill is identical to HB 887.
Patron - Houck

P SB465

Special education health services and reimbursement by the Department of Medical Assistance Services. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to reimburse school divisions providing health-related services to special education students as participating providers in the Virginia Medicaid program for transportation services between the student's home, the school or other sites where health-related services are to be provided on those days when the special education student is scheduled to receive health-related services at the school or such other site. School divisions providing health-related services to special education students are reimbursed only the federal share. No state money is appropriated for this program.
Patron - Puller

P SB490

Medical care facilities; certificate of public need. Requires, notwithstanding the requirements of the Requests For Applications (RFAs) statute or the provisions of any current RFA, the Commissioner of Health to reissue two Requests For Applications. First, the Commissioner is directed to reissue a RFA for sixty new nursing home or nursing facility beds in Planning District 11 when (i) pursuant to the 1997 determination of a 240-nursing home bed need in Planning District 11 and the issuance by the Commissioner of Health of the formal legal notice of Request For Certificate of Public Need Applications, a certificate of public need for sixty new nursing home or nursing facility beds was issued to an existing nursing home in Planning District 11 and (ii) this sixty-nursing home bed certificate of need has been formally surrendered by the company owning such nursing home because of lack of the requisite financing. The Commissioner must authorize and accept applications for these sixty nursing home or nursing facility beds and may issue one or more certificates of public need for an increase of such sixty new beds in which nursing facility or extended care services are to be provided to existing facilities within Planning District 11. The Commissioner must also give preference in reissuing any certificate of public need for these sixty beds to facilities located in a rapid-growth area of Planning District 11. In addition, the Commissioner is directed to reissue a RFA for 120 new nursing home or nursing facility beds in Planning District 13 when (a) pursuant to the 1997 determination of a 240-nursing home bed need in Planning District 13 and the issuance by the Commissioner of Health of the formal legal notice of Request For Certificate of Public Need Applications, a certificate of public need for 120 new nursing home or nursing facility beds was issued to a for-profit nursing home operating company incorporated in January 1973, and (b) the 120-bed certificate of public need issued in 1997 for Planning District 13 to such nursing home corporation has expired without any construction being started because of lack of the requisite financing. The Commissioner may issue one or more certificates for the 120 new beds in Planning District 13.
Patron - Newman

P SB542

Human research. Revises the definition of human research. The bill adds agents appointed under advanced directives, legal guardians, spouses, adult children, and adult siblings to the list of people authorized to give consent to human research under the definition of "legally authorized representative." The bill provides that if two or more legally authorized representatives having the same priority disagree on participation in human research, the subject will not participate. The bill also changes competent and not-competent to capable or incapable of making an informed decision. Human research review committees are given the additional responsibility of determining whether the risks to the subjects are minimized by using sound research designs and whether additional safeguards are included when the subjects are a vulnerable population.
Patron - Mims

P SB573

Virginia Transplant Council. Revises the membership and charge of the Virginia Transplant Council. This bill adds to the membership of the Council one representative of donor families and one representative of transplant recipients. The Council is required to elect these representatives for terms established in its bylaws. In addition, the Council is required to include in its associate, nonvoting membership at least one representative of the faith community and one representative of local public schools. This bill also requires the Council to provide a forum for discussion among its members of any issues of which it may be apprised that could impact the effectiveness of its activities and the relationship between the public and its members.
Patron - Martin

P SB601

Certain disclosure of prehospital patient care reports. Authorizes each licensed emergency medical services agency to disclose the prehospital patient care report to law-enforcement officials when the patient is the victim of a crime upon a determination that such disclosure is not in violation of the federal Department of Health and Human Services regulations relating to the electronic transmission of data and patient privacy promulgated as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. § 1320d et seq.). The Patient Health Records Privacy law is also amended to add this disclosure to the list of permissible releases of patient records. The new federal regulations, which become effective in April of this year, but will not be enforced until April of next year, will narrowly restrict the release of patient records in many situations. This bill is identical to HB 1283.
Patron - Quayle

P SB629

Disputed periodic nursing facility surveys. Requires, unless expressly prohibited by federal statute or regulation, that the findings of the Commissioner of Health, with respect to periodic surveys of nursing facilities conducted pursuant to the Survey, Certification, and Enforcement Procedures set forth in 42 C.F.R. Part 488, will be considered case decisions pursuant to the Administrative Process Act and will be subject to the Department of Health's informal dispute resolution procedures, or at the option of the department or the nursing facility, the formal fact-finding procedures under § 2.2-4020. The Commonwealth will be deemed the proponent for purposes of the formal hearing procedures.
Patron - Saslaw

P SB643

Certificate of Public Need. Authorizes the application for and the issuance of a certificate of public need for the conversion of 16 assisted living beds to nursing facility or extended care services beds in an existing facility when (i) such application is filed by an existing 224-bed nursing home facility located in Chesterfield County within Planning District 15; (ii) the 16 assisted living beds in the existing facility were built to nursing home standards; (iii) the existing facility is operated by a health center commission; (iv) the existing facility has a 95 to 96 percent occupancy rate; and (v) the converted nursing facility beds are to be dedicated to the provision of care for private pay and Medicare patients.
Patron - Watkins

Failed

F HB191

Commissioner of Health's immunity. Prohibits any action from being taken against the Commissioner of Health or his designee for trespass, if he is carrying out his responsibilities under the onsite sewage disposal laws.
Patron - Parrish

F HB332

Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS). Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to incorporate into the FAMIS Plan certain mental health services covered by Medicaid, in the same manner and with the same coverage and limitations, as follows: intensive in-home services for children including crisis treatment; individual family counseling; life, parenting, and communication skills; case management activities and coordination with other required services; and 24-hour emergency response.
Patron - Darner

F HB639

Human embryonic stem cell research. Places, within the purview of the Virginia human research law, the regulation of human embryonic stem cell research involving the harvesting of human embryonic stem cells from human embryos or pre-embryos that were created for the purpose of conducting research. This bill defines a human embryonic stem cell as an early cell of the blastocyst proper that has the potential to differentiate into various specialized human cell types. No human research review committee may approve any project involving the harvesting of human embryonic stem cells from human embryos or pre-embryos that were created for purpose of conducting research, regardless of the funding or purpose of the project; however, federally approved human embryonic stem cell research and adult human stem cell research may be approved. Further, the sale or purchase of ova or sperm or the reimbursement for the removal and preservation of ova for the purpose of creating human embryos or pre-embryos for scientific research is prohibited and made subject to conviction as a Class 6 felony.
Patron - O'Brien

F HB883

Medical care facilities certificate of public need. Removes "cancer care centers" from the requirement to obtain a certificate prior to construction of the facility, purchase of major medical equipment, or introduction of new covered services. "Cancer care center" is defined as any specialized center or clinic or portion of a physician's office developed for the provision of outpatient chemotherapy, radiation, and diagnostic radiology services that does not administer general anesthesia in connection with such services. This exemption is conditioned on the provision of care to patients regardless of ability to pay and on reporting on indigent care to the Department of Medical Assistance Services.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB890

Health; midwives. Allows direct entry midwives to practice in the Commonwealth pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board of Health. Generally removes the "grandfather" clause on direct entry midwives that was adopted in 1977. The bill does not affect the practice of certified nurse midwives currently regulated jointly by the Boards of Medicine and Nursing.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB891

Health; practice of midwifery. Exempts from licensure those persons who have obtained a Certified Professional Midwife credential from the North American Registry of Midwives.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB1090

Children's health insurance; waiting period exception. Eliminates the waiting period for previously insured children for coverage under the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan where the applicant can document that the cost of previous health insurance exceeded 10 percent of the family's countable monthly income.
Patron - Brink

F HB1153

Licensure and regulation of certain facilities. Requires the Board and Department of Health to license as abortion clinics any facility, other than a hospital as defined in the law, in which any second trimester or five or more first trimester abortions per month are performed. Each facility so licensed will be required to comply with requirements relating to facility safety and patient protection, including cleanliness, sterilization, fire protection, evacuation, staff credentials, equipment, maintenance of facilities and equipment, allowable procedures, and facility procedures and policies.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB1204

Drainfield guidelines. Requires the Board of Health to issue standards in determining equivalency of drainfield sizes for types of onsite septic systems.
Patron - Parrish

F HB1273

School board employees; consent to testing for blood-borne pathogens. Adds school board employees who are exposed to persons in a manner that may transmit HIV or hepatitis B or C to those individuals deemed to have consented to testing for infection with HIV or hepatitis B or C viruses and the release of test results to the exposed person. In addition, persons, including students, directly exposed to the body fluids of a school board employee are also deemed to have consented to testing for infection with these viruses and the release of the test results to the exposed school board employee. Procedures for teacher exposure to student body fluids are set forth in § 22.1-271.3, which directs school boards to ensure that school personnel having contact with students receive training in the prevention and effects of blood-borne pathogens. This measure mirrors current requirements for health care providers and law-enforcement personnel.
Patron - Abbitt

F HB1312

Physicians performing abortions. Requires, prior to performing any abortion in the Commonwealth, any physician to have practice privileges in a hospital or valid, unexpired or uncancelled malpractice liability insurance for at least $2 million. The Board of Medicine is required to monitor and verify these requirements and the physician will be required to report any lawsuit filed against him regardless of the outcome of the action.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB1325

Medical Assistance Services. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services (i) to submit an application for a waiver to include in the state plan for medical assistance services for Virginia a provision to enable persons receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) whose incomes are at or below 80 percent of federal poverty levels and, who are, therefore, eligible as aged and disabled recipients to continue to be eligible for medical assistance services if their incomes exceed 80 percent of the federal poverty levels through a Medicaid Buy-In program whereby such persons may pay a premium based on such income for such health benefits and (ii) to amend the personal care services waiver and any other relevant waiver in regard to the services provided by personal care services aides and personal attendants to eligible individuals in their homes to authorize the delivery of such services by aides or attendants, as appropriate under the plan of care, to eligible persons while at their place of work.
Patron - Scott

F HB1354

Medical assistance services and the Virginia Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS). Implements certain recommendations included in the December 2001 report of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionon on the Department of Medical Assistance Services as follows: (i) a requirement for tracking of the children enrolled in Medicaid as a result of the FAMIS outreach efforts; (ii) a requirement for an analysis of the reasons children dropped from the FAMIS program based on a survey of the families that dropped out; (iii) a requirement for the Department of Medical Assistance Services to update its projections of uninsured children in Virginia, children potentially eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled, and children potentially eligible for FAMIS but not enrolled; (iv) a requirement for the Department to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to provide eligibility to all children up to 19 years old whose family incomes are at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level and to amend the FAMIS plan to provide for eligibility for children whose family incomes are above 133 percent of the federal poverty level but no more than 200 percent of federal poverty level (this provision requires the leveraging of the enhanced federal match); and (v) expansion of the quarterly reports and the Director's annual report. Enactment clauses require emergency regulations to implement this provision, require the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to develop a coordination plan to improve communication and coordination between Medicaid and FAMIS and to provide for a formal referral and tracking process between the programs and designation of specific roles and responsibilities for staff; and require the analysis of the reasons for children being dropped from FAMIS to be based on a survey concerning certain specific questions on relocation, costs, and services.
Patron - Brink

F SB192

Health; Virginia Prescription Drug Payment Assistance Plan. Establishes a program to be administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), modeled on Delaware's Prescription Drug Payment Assistance Program, to assist eligible elderly and disabled Virginians in paying for prescription drugs. DMAS may contract with third-party administrators to provide administrative services that include enrollment, outreach, eligibility determination, data collection, financial oversight and reporting. The benefit is limited to prescription drugs manufactured by pharmaceutical companies that agree to provide manufacturer rebates. Eligible persons must have incomes at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level or have prescription drug expenses that exceed 40 percent of their annual income, as set forth in the appropriations act. They must also be age 65 or older or eligible for federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits, not be receiving a prescription drug benefit through a Medicare supplemental policy or other third-party payor prescription benefit as of July 1, 2002, and be ineligible for Medicaid prescription benefits; however, nothing shall prohibit the enrollment of a person in the program during the period in which his Medicaid eligibility is determined. Eligible enrollees will receive an identification card to be presented to pharmacists and will start receiving the benefit the month after their eligibility is determined. Benefits will be paid to pharmacies under a point-of-service claims procedure to be established by DMAS. Participants are required to make a co-payment for each prescription, which in general will not exceed 25 percent of the cost, but not less than five dollars. Money to pay the claims will come from the newly established Prescription Assistance Fund, which is to be financed by 10 percent of the proceeds received by the Commonwealth under the Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement and any federal funds available for this purpose. Administrative costs are to be paid from the pharmaceutical manufacturer rebates to the extent available and the $20 annual enrollment fees. The Board shall develop a comprehensive statewide community-based outreach plan to enroll eligible persons and DMAS shall report annually on the program's implementation. No entitlement to prescription drug coverage on the part of any eligible person or any right or entitlement to participation is created and such coverage shall only be available to the extent that funds are appropriated therefor.
Patron - Deeds

F SB239

Health; critical care reimbursement. Provides, with funds appropriated for such purpose, that the Board of Medical Assistance Services develop a program for the reimbursement of Medicaid-allowable costs incurred by critical access hospitals as defined by the Code of Virginia. This is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.
Patron - Wampler

F SB392

Sale of mercury fever thermometers prohibited. Requires a ban on the sale of liquid mercury fever thermometers in Virginia. This bill states that the General Assembly finds that (i) mercury has been identified as a potent neurotoxin, the exposure to which can cause irreversible brain damage to developing children, significant harm to pregnant women and their fetuses, and has caused reproductive and behavioral deficits in animals; (ii) a primary source of mercury in the environment has been shown to be the inappropriate disposal of broken liquid mercury fever thermometers; and (iii) through the use of digital fever thermometers, mercury exposure can be avoided. Further, broken liquid mercury fever thermometers can pose great hazards to children and pregnant women when mercury vapor is inhaled as a result of inadvertently breaking fever thermometers in the home. Any person violating the prohibition against the sale of liquid mercury fever thermometers will be subject to the general penalties for violations of Title 32.1 statutes and Board of Health regulations, for example, Class 1 misdemeanor and fines of up to $10,000 per violation. A second enactment clause requires the Department of Health, in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to provide information on the proper disposal of liquid mercury fever thermometers to local governments and other landfill operators for the purpose of informing the public about the proper disposal of liquid mercury fever thermometers.
Patron - Whipple

F SB449

F SB505

Regulation of cancer care centers. Removes "cancer care centers" from the certificate of public need requirements so long as such facilities participate in Virginia Medicaid and do not consider the ability to pay of their patients when providing treatment for cancer. The Board of Health must license cancer care centers; however, deemed status will be accorded for facilities accredited by the American College of Radiology or the American College of Radiation Oncology or another accrediting agency approved by the Board. In addition, cancer care centers will be required to contribute and be eligible to receive payments from the Indigent Health Care Trust Fund in the same manner as hospitals. The Board and Director of Medical Assistance Services (the administrators of the Trust Fund) will be required to report by December 1, 2003, on the results of this new requirement. Enactment clauses allow cancer care centers to make capital investments and other expenditures in order to plan the implementation of a facility upon enactment of this provision; however, no cancer care center can initiate operation without licensure. The Boards of Health and Medical Assistance Services must promulgate emergency regulations.
Patron - Quayle

Carried Over

C HB104

C HB180

Funding of local health departments. Requires, notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation to the contrary, the Board of Health to include, in any agreement with any county or city for the operation of its health department or any funding allocation for any independent local health department, a stipulation for the Commonwealth to assume, on a phased-in basis, the full costs of such services and operations of the various local health departments as are required by state law. The Board's funding allocations must provide for such yearly incremental increases to reach 100 percent state funding of all required local health department services and operations over a five-year period, beginning on July 1, 2003, and ending on June 30, 2007.
Patron - Bryant

C HB226

Construction permits; local option. Allows localities to establish reasonable testing requirements to determine compliance with existing federal or state drinking water quality standards and require that such testing be done prior to the issuance of building permits.
Patron - Janis

C HB270

Health; staffing standards in operating rooms. Requires the Board of Health to adopt regulations that establish staffing standards in surgical units of hospitals whenever surgical procedures are performed that will provide a nurse-to-patient ratio of one licensed perioperative registered nurse to one surgical patient per operating room during such patient's surgical procedure.
Patron - Landes

C HB293

Health planning. Eliminates the regional health planning agencies and the State Health Planning Board and authorizes the Board of Health to conduct health planning activities and requires the Department of Health to assume the regional responsibilities regarding medical care facilities certificate of public need. The Board will promulgate regulations to determine if a public hearing is needed at the local level. The Department of Health will be responsible for collecting data and conducting a public hearing, if required by the Board's regulations, at the local level during the initial 60 day period of the certificate of public need application process. The Board must promulgate emergency regulations to implement this provision.
Patron - McDonnell

C HB425

Health; restaurant public disclosure system. Provides that the provisions of the Administrative Process Act do not apply to the adoption of the FDA Food Code by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Department of Health. The bill does require the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Health to publish an opportunity for public comment prior to adopting these regulations.
Patron - McQuigg

C HB620

Health; critical care reimbursement. Provides, with funds appropriated for such purpose, that the Board of Medical Assistance Services develop a program for the reimbursement of Medicaid- allowable costs incurred by critical access hospitals as defined by the Code of Virginia. This is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.
Patron - Morgan

C HB677

Health; nursing home standards. Requires the Board of Health to establish staffing standards for nursing homes that will provide an average of three and one-half hours of direct care services per resident per 24-hour period to be reported quarterly.
Patron - Watts

C HB875

Health; medical assistance. Raises the income eligibility standards for Medicaid for aged and disabled individuals from 80 percent to 90 percent of the federal poverty level as allowed by federal law.
Patron - Phillips

C HB882

Department of Health; bioterrorism unit. Requires the Board of Health to reorganize or create a structure within the present organization of the Department of Health to prevent, manage, and respond to any critical event or emergency resulting from bioterrorism. The Department's bioterrorism units must monitor the disease-reporting requirements of the Board; advise the Board on any known emerging risks from pathogens or toxins; cooperate and coordinate the response to any epidemic of disease caused by or appearing to be caused by bioterrorism with state and local law -enforcement and emergency management officials; conduct contact tracing and surveillance of disease incidence; develop a mechanism for immediately advising the Governor of any sudden unexpected incident of a disease that has been believed to be under control or eliminated; and implement a health plan for emergency response to unexpected health hazards that designates the role of the Commonwealth's hospitals, nursing homes, emergency medical services, and health care practitioners.
Patron - Phillips

C HB885

Regulation of specialty services. Removes specialty services from the certificate of public need requirements so long as such facilities participate in Virginia Medicaid and do not consider the ability of their patients to pay when providing treatment. Specialty services are defined as any specialized center or clinic or that portion of a physician's office developed for the provision of computed tomographic (CT) scanning, lithotripsy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomographic (PET) scanning, radiation therapy, or nuclear medicine imaging. The Board of Health must license specialty services; however, deemed status will be accorded for facilities accredited by the American College of Radiology or the American College of Radiation Oncology or another accrediting agency approved by the Board. In addition, specialty services will be required to contribute and be eligible to receive payments from the Indigent Health Care Trust Fund in the same manner as hospitals. The Board and Director of Medical Assistance Services (the administrators of the Trust Fund) will be required to report by December 1, 2003, on the results of this new requirement. Enactment clauses allow specialty services to make capital investments and other expenditures in order to plan the implementation of a facility upon enactment of this provision; however, no specialty service can initiate operation without licensure. The Boards of Health and Medical Assistance Services must promulgate emergency regulations.
Patron - Hamilton

C HB904

DMAS; Virginia Insurance Plan for Seniors (VIPS). Establishes the Virginia Insurance Plan for Seniors (VIPS) to provide assistance in the purchase of prescription drugs for those persons who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare but who do not qualify for prescription assistance. Payment assistance is limited to $80 per month per eligible person, but unused amounts may be rolled over and credited to that person for future use; however, no direct cash payment will be made to any eligible person. Participants must pay a $10 co-payment for each prescription. They are also required to use generic drugs unless they are willing to pay the difference between the generic and name-brand drug. Approved drugs in the plan are those manufactured by pharmaceutical companies that agree to provide manufacturer rebates equal to the rebate required by the Medicaid program and to make the drug product available to the plan for the best price that the manufacturer makes the drug available in the Medicaid program. Any licensed pharmacist may participate according to the rules adopted for the program and shall be paid a reasonable reimbursement to cover the cost of the drug and costs for dispensing; payments to pharmacists shall not vary based on the size of the entity dispensing the prescription. Beneficiary cost-sharing amounts shall not vary based on the source of dispensing or method of distribution of the prescription.
Patron - Purkey

C HB913

Health; medical assistance. Raises the income eligibility standards for Medicaid for aged and disabled individuals from 80 percent to 100 percent of the federal poverty level as allowed by federal law.
Patron - O'Bannon

C HB1086

Children's health insurance; simplification of application process. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to simplify the Medicaid application process and verification requirements so that they are consistent with the procedures used by the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS). The Department must also develop and implement procedures for the automatic filing of an application for FAMIS for children who have been denied or terminated from Medicaid.
Patron - Brink

C HB1087

Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS). Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to incorporate into the FAMIS Plan, in the same manner and with the same coverage and limitations, certain services provided to covered persons with mental retardation or related conditions under the State Plan for Medical Assistance Services and set forth in the Board's regulations as follows: day health and rehabilitation services providing individualized activities, supports, training, supervision, and transportation based on a written plan of care for two or more hours per day scheduled multiple times per week.
Patron - Brink

C HB1088

Children's health insurance annual enrollment fee. Requires participants in the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan whose incomes are above 150 percent of the federal poverty level to pay an annual enrollment fee of no more than $100 per family and nominal copayments.
Patron - Brink

C HB1089

Children's health insurance eligibility and enrollment period. Provides coverage under the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS) for persons who were enrolled for 12 consecutive months in the Children's Medical Security Insurance Plan (CMSIP) or Medicaid on the date that Virginia received federal approval of FAMIS. The bill also requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish a procedure for timely redetermination of eligibility for FAMIS to avoid a lapse in coverage of children when converting from CMSIP or Medicaid to FAMIS.
Patron - Brink

C HB1105

Medical assistance coverage for certain preventive and rehabilitative services. Provides Medicaid coverage on behalf of physically disabled persons, who are Medicaid eligible, for membership in wellness clubs prescribed by a licensed physician as a part of the treatment plan to assist the person in maintaining mobility and health.
Patron - Christian

C HB1181

Medical Assistance Services. Provides an exception to the Medicaid prospective payment system for rural nursing facilities experiencing increased direct care costs because of staffing shortages. This bill allows a mid-cost report period increase in the direct care component of the rural nursing facility's prospective payment rate that may exceed the reimbursement limits or ceilings or both for the nursing facility under the prospective payment system. The mid-cost report period increase will be triggered by costs resulting from local staffing shortages, i.e., contract direct care staff have been hired at higher salary rates than regularly employed staff. The rural nursing facility will have the right to submit adjustments to its previous cost report immediately upon incurring these additional staffing costs and the adjusted prospective payment rate will begin on the date of submission of the adjusted cost report.
Patron - Keister

C HB1201

C HB1297

Health; birth certificates. Provides that the State Registrar shall issue a Virginia certificate of foreign birth for an adopted foreign-born child without stating such certificate is not evidence of U.S. citizenship if the State Registrar receives a notarized Certificate of Citizenship from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Child Citizenship Act, which became effective on February 27, 2001, amends the Immigration and Naturalization Act to facilitate U.S. citizenship to certain foreign-born children, including adopted children of U.S. citizens.
Patron - Van Yahres

C HB1319

C SB73

C SB161

Requirements for nursing home licensure. Establishes, as a condition of licensure, staffing standards for all nursing homes as follows: (i) each nursing home must have a full-time director of nursing who must be a professional registered nurse; (ii) each nursing home must have designated nursing supervisors on duty at all times who must be professional registered nurses; (iii) each nursing home with 100 beds or more must employ a full-time assistant director of nursing who must be a professional registered nurse; (iv) each nursing home with fewer than 100 beds must employ a part-time professional registered nurse as assistant director of nursing; (v) each nursing home with 100 beds or more must employ a full-time director of in-service education; and (vi) each nursing home with fewer than 100 beds must employ a part-time director of in-service education. In addition, each nursing home must maintain a minimum staffing ratio of registered nurses or licensed practical nurses to residents of at least one to 15 during the day shift, at least one to 20 during the evening shift, and at least one to 30 during the night shift. A nursing home must maintain a minimum staffing ratio of certified nurse aides to residents of at least one to five during the day shift, at least one to five during the evening shift, and at least one to 10 during the night shift. Further, in order to meet the individual needs of residents with extensive nursing care requirements or higher acuity levels, each nursing home must decrease the established caregiver to resident ratios. On a form provided by the Board, each nursing home must post, in a manner easily visible and readily accessible to residents, families, caregivers, and others on each wing and floor of its facility, the actual staffing ratios, according to the most recently completed cost reporting period, grouped by categories of employees and shifts and a list, in at least 48-point type, of the names of the nursing staff on duty at the beginning of each shift on each such wing or floor. This information must be expressed in actual numbers and as staffing ratios, and must include the actual numbers of additional staff employed to meet the additional needs of residents with extensive nursing care requirements or higher acuity levels. The Commissioner of Health is required to ensure that the nursing home staffing requirements are enforced and, in the case of any violations, the Commissioner may evoke various penalties and remedies.
Patron - Byrne

C SB428

Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS). Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to incorporate into the FAMIS Plan certain mental health services covered by Medicaid, in the same manner and with the same coverage and limitations, certain services provided to covered persons with mental retardation or related conditions under the State Plan for Medical Assistance Services and set forth in the Board's regulations as follows: day health and rehabilitation services providing individualized activities, supports, training, supervision, and transportation based on a written plan of care for two or more hours per day scheduled multiple times per week.
Patron - Ticer

C SB478

C SB658

Medicaid; prior authorization of drugs. Requires the Board of Medical Assistance Services to include in the State Plan for Medical Assistance Services a provision relating to the Medicaid Prior Authorization Advisory Committee. This provision will require, upon implementation of the Medicaid Prior Authorization Advisory Committee or other prior drug authorization mechanism, that (i) if a drug is safe and effective for a medical condition and has been covered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services for an individual's medical condition, coverage under the state plan for such drug will not be limited or excluded when prescribed for the covered medical condition of a recipient; (ii) any formulary adopted by the Board must include each therapeutic class in which there are two or more FDA-approved controlled substances and, for each therapeutic class in which there are two or more FDA-approved pharmaceutical or biological agents, must provide coverage of a least two such pharmaceutical or biological agents without an administrative preference for one over the other; (iii) no prior authorization of new medicines that have been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for indications will be required until the Department of Medical Assistance Services has compiled at least six months of drug utilization review experience with Medicaid recipients being treated with the new drug for an authorized indication; and (iv) failure to provide coverage of drugs in every therapeutic class constitutes denial of medically necessary patient care.
Patron - Ruff

C SB659

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