General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2006>Health

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Health

Passed

P HB13

Reporting of tuberculosis strains with antimicrobial drug susceptibilities. Removes the option of submitting to the local health director a report of antimicrobial drug susceptibilities performed by a laboratory certified to perform such testing in lieu of submitting a representative and viable sample of initial cultures positive for tubercle bacilli to the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services. The bill requires that the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services establish a library of isolates from persons with active tuberculosis disease for the purpose of disease strain analysis as indicated by epidemiological investigations. This bill is identical to SB112.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB48

Chesapeake CHAMPS program. Repeals Chapter 598 of the Acts of Assembly of 1991. CHAMPS, Inc. was originally incorporated to assist in the coordinated medical care between the Health Department and community volunteer physicians who agreed to see patients for episodic care. However, it was never established as a 501(c)(3) organization and is currently defunct. The repeal of Chapter 598 is by the recommendation of the Chesapeake Health Department and the Virginia Code Commission and will not result in any adverse effects on current Department of Health programs.
Patron - Landes

P HB267

Certificate of public need. Authorizes the submission of an application for an increase in nursing home beds, either on-site or through relocation within the same city or county, for a facility that was licensed for less than 40 beds under certain specific conditions. The approval shall not affect whether Requests for Applications are issued before the beds have been operated for two years. The bill has a sunset of June 30, 2007, as well as an emergency clause.
Patron - Cole

P HB381

Certificate of public need; authorization of certain amendment. Authorizes, notwithstanding the provisions of the moratorium on nursing home bed construction or additions that was in effect until July 1, 1996, or the provisions of two previous authorizations for amendments to the relevant certificate, the Commissioner of Health to accept and approve a request to amend the conditions of a certificate of public need issued as an exception to a former restriction on filing applications for nursing home bed projects. The bill authorizes the facility to request an amendment to its previous certificate of public need to admit persons, other than residents of the cooperative units, to its nursing home facility beds. The facility must be: (i) operated by an association described in § 55-458; (ii) created in connection with a real estate cooperative; and (iii) providing its residents a level of nursing services consistent with the definition of continuing care in Chapter 49 (§ 38.2-4900 et seq.) of Title 38.2. This bill applies to one facility to which the original certificate of public need was issued prior to October 3, 1995. The certificate shall expire no later than June 30, 2009.
Patron - Suit

P HB413

Virginia Cord Blood Bank Initiative. Establishes the Virginia Cord Blood Bank Initiative as a public resource for Virginians for the treatment of patients with life-threatening illnesses or debilitating conditions, for use in advancing basic and clinical research, and, in the event of a terrorist attack, to be used in the treatment of the injured citizens of the Commonwealth. The Initiative will be established as a nonprofit legal entity to collect, screen for infectious and genetic diseases, perform tissue typing on, cyropreserve, and store umbilical cord blood and will be a collaborative consortium covering all geographical regions of Virginia. The State Health Commissioner will develop or arrange for or contract with a nonprofit entity for the development of the Initiative. Medical schools, hospitals, biotechnology companies, regional blood banks, laboratories, and others will be requested to participate and assist in the design and implementation of the Initiative. Participants will estimate the costs of implementation and the Commissioner will assist in the development of cost estimates, compare and evaluate the estimates, and negotiate with the participants. The Commissioner will also coordinate the design of the Initiative, such as appropriate contact with pregnant women, obtaining informed consent for donations, storage periods, recycling of the samples and the sale or transfer of the samples being withdrawn from storage for use in basic or clinical research, and the development of reasonable rates and fees for cord blood products. The Initiative will conduct outreach and research, particularly for ethnic and racial minorities. Information will be disseminated through health departments and Medicaid. Women will be offered the opportunity to donate umbilical cord blood; however, no woman will be required to make a cord blood donation. Health care entities must disclose financial remuneration for the collection of the cord blood prior to harvesting it. No person who objects to transfusion or transplantation of blood on the basis of bona fide religious beliefs will be required to participate in the Initiative. The Initiative will be implemented with such funds as may be appropriated or otherwise made available for its purpose. The Commissioner must, upon implementation of the Initiative, seek the development of a nonprofit entity to assume the operation and administration of it and may seek federal, state, and private grant funds for its continuation. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Medical, Ethical, and Scientific Issues Relating to Stem Cell Research in the Commonwealth (HJR 588 of 2005). This bill is identical to SB 370.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

P HB577

Residential placements of children; reimbursement restrictions; regulatory requirements for licensure; reporting and other regulations. Requires the Boards and Departments of Education, Juvenile Justice, Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, and Social Services to promulgate regulations that require, as a condition of initial licensure of, and, if appropriate, license renewal, that the applicant (i) be personally interviewed by Department personnel to determine the qualifications of the owner or operator before granting an initial license; (ii) provide evidence of having relevant prior experience before any initial license is granted; (iii) provide, as a condition of initial license or renewal licensure, evidence of staff participation in training on appropriate siting of the residential facilities for children, good neighbor policies, and community relations; and (iv) be required to screen residents prior to admission to exclude individuals with behavioral issues, such as histories of violence, that cannot be managed in the relevant residential facility. In addition, the departments must notify relevant local governments and placing and funding agencies, including the Office of Comprehensive Services, of multiple health and safety or human rights violations in children's residential facilities for which the relevant department serves as lead licensure agency when such violations result in the lowering of the licensure status of the facility to provisional; post on the department's website information concerning the application for initial licensure of or renewal, denial, or provisional licensure of any residential facility for children located in the locality; require all licensees to self-report lawsuits against or settlements with residential facility operators relating to the health and safety or human rights of residents and any criminal charges that may have been made relating to the health and safety or human rights of residents; require proof of contractual agreements or staff expertise to provide educational services, counseling services, psychological services, medical services, or any other services needed to serve the residents in accordance with the facility's operational plan; and modify the term of the license (or, in the case of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the certificate) based on a change in compliance. The Department of Social Services will be given the additional responsibility for disseminating or posting an accurate list of licensed and operating group homes and other residential facilities for children by locality with information on services and identification of the lead licensure agency. In the event a group home or residential facility has its licensure status lowered to provisional as a result of multiple health and safety or human rights violations, all children placed by CSA in the facility must be assessed to determine whether it is in the best interests of each child to be removed from the facility and placed in a fully licensed facility and additional placements are prohibited until full licensure status has been restored. Prior to placing a child across jurisdictional lines, the local family assessment and planning team must also explore all appropriate community services for the child; document that no appropriate placement is available in the locality; and report the rationale for placement to the community policy and management team (CPMT). The CPMTs are required to report annually to the office of Comprehensive Services on the gaps in services needed to keep children in the local community and any barriers to the development of the services. The CPMTs are also required to notify receiving school divisions of placements across jurisdictional lines and to identify children with disabilities and foster care children to expedite enrollment and special education. A second enactment requires emergency regulations for the licensure and certification requirements and a third enactment requires that the emergency regulations include provisions addressing HB 2461 (2005) and SB 1304 (2005). This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee Studying Private Youth and Single Family Group Homes pursuant to HJR 685 (2005).
Patron - Nixon

P HB594

Emergency medical services; oxygen training. Directs the State Board of Health to prescribe regulations authorizing emergency medical services personnel to possess and administer oxygen with the authority of the local medical director and a licensed emergency medical services agency.
Patron - Lohr

P HB610

Facilitating an emergency medical services quality of care initiative; civil immunity and privileged communications. Facilitates the development of a quality of care initiative in the emergency medical services system by providing civil immunity for members of entities monitoring such care and rendering their communications privileged in the same manner as provided to other professional groups.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB625

Determination of hazardous human remains. Allows the Commissioner of the Department of Health, in conjunction with the Governor, to determine if human remains are hazardous to the public health. If remains are determined to be hazardous, the Commonwealth is charged with handling and disposition of the remains and shall erect a memorial at the disposition site. "Hazardous human remains" means those remains contaminated with an infectious, radiologic, chemical or other dangerous agent.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB714

Local health partnership authorities; sunset repealed. Repeals the sunset clause that allows the article on local health partnership authorities to expire on July 1, 2006, thereby establishing the law indefinitely. The law provides that government and private entities may join forces to address the health care needs of an area and assist in providing such services in a coordinated manner so as to eliminate duplication and inefficiency. This bill is identical to SB 252.
Patron - McQuigg

P HB758

Medical Assistance Services; State Plan amendment or application for waiver. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to convene a Medicaid Revitalization Committee to prepare recommendations for a State Plan amendment or an application for a waiver, including but not limited to a research and demonstration project waiver pursuant to Section 1115 of Title XIX of the Social Security Act, as amended, to reform and revitalize Virginia's Medicaid program. The recommendations shall include fundamental elements to move toward greater emphasis on the state's role in purchasing healthcare services, leveraging the forces of the marketplace to customize services to meet the needs of Virginia's various Medicaid populations, enhancing personal responsibility and empowering individuals to manage their healthcare, bridging public and private coverage, and containing the growth of Medicaid expenditures in the Commonwealth. By May 15, 2007, DMAS shall prepare, submit, and seek approval of any required State Plan amendments or waiver authority. Enactment clauses require emergency regulations upon obtaining approval of the waiver and authorize DMAS to use electronic media, when in compliance with the Administrative Process Act, in the regulatory process. The provisions of the bill are subject to an appropriation of funds in the general appropriation act.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB759

Medicaid; public-private long-term care partnership program. Requires the Board of Medical Assistance Services to include, in the state plan for medical assistance services, a provision, when authorized by and in compliance with federal law, to establish a public-private long-term care partnership program between the Commonwealth of Virginia and private insurance companies that must be designed to reduce Medicaid costs for long-term care by delaying or eliminating dependence on Medicaid for such services through encouraging the purchase of private long-term care insurance policies designated by the Department as "qualified state long-term care insurance partnerships" that may be used as the first source of benefits for the participant's long-term care. The components of the program, including the treatment of assets for Medicaid eligibility and estate recovery, must be structured in accordance with federal law and applicable federal guidelines. A second enactment clause requires DMAS to collaborate with the Department of Human Resource Management to encourage state employees to participate in the partnership program.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB760

Health care data reporting; safety and quality of care. Requires the Commissioner of Health to determine, along with the Board of Medicine, any data concerning safety and quality health care services rendered by physicians to Medicaid recipients that should be identified, collected, and disseminated. Also requires sufficient funding to be identified to cover the costs to physicians of this additional reporting requirement.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB831

Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan. Requires that, insofar as feasible, individuals eligible for Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS) Plan must be enrolled in health maintenance organizations. The bill modifies the present requirement that the health care benefits provided under FAMIS must be through the existing Department of Medical Assistance Services' contracts with health maintenance organizations and other providers, or through new contracts with HMOs, health insurance plans, or other entities or through employer-sponsored health insurance.
Patron - Welch

P HB851

Hospital standing orders or protocols for certain vaccinations. Authorizes hospitals to provide or arrange for the administration of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations to their patients when standing orders or protocols for the immunizations have been approved by a member or committee of the hospital's medical staff. The standing order or protocol will waive the requirement for specific written physician orders for influenza and pneumococcal immunizations; however, the standing order or protocol will not supersede a physician's authority to issue specific written orders relating to immunizations. The standing order or protocol for administration of the vaccines must be in accordance with the most recent recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; medical contraindications must be ascertained; the patient's wishes and any religious objections must be determined; and informed consent must be obtained from the patient or his legal representative. The vaccinations must be documented in the patient's health record. Approval of a standing order or protocol for the administration of the vaccines will be deemed to satisfy the requirement for a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB853

Health records privacy. Clarifies that health records may be disclosed by a health care entity in connection with the health care entity's own health care operations, as specified in federal regulation (45 C.F.R. § 164.501), or in the normal course of business.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB1134

Sewage sludge fee. Requires the Board of Health to promulgate regulations establishing an initial fee of $5,000 to be imposed upon permit holders and applicants and a fee not to exceed $1,000 for the reissuance, amendment or modification of a permit. Fees collected are to be deposited into the Sludge Management Fund for the administration and management of the Department of Health's sewage sludge program. Currently, the Board may adopt regulations requiring permittees to pay a reasonable fee, not to exceed $2,500, for the processing of the application for a sewage sludge permit.
Patron - Cline

P HB1391

Virginia Congenital Anomalies Reporting and Education System. Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Health to provide for a secure system that protects the confidentiality of data and information for which reporting is required to implement the Virginia Congenital Anomalies Reporting and Education System (VaCARES). The system may include online data entry and a minimum data set is specified, including names, gender, diagnosis, etc. The bill deletes current reporting requirements concerning the parent's service in Vietnam and possible exposure to Agent Orange and certain outdated language relating to the Board's regulations. Hospitals, the only facilities required to report birth defects to VaCARES, are authorized to view personally identifiable information in the system "as approved by the Commissioner and upon receipt by the Commissioner of sworn affirmation from each such person that the confidentiality of the information will be preserved."
Patron - Hogan

P HB1398

Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day care, home care organizations, and hospice; barrier crimes. Removes the phrase "moral turpitude" from the description of crimes that would constitute a barrier to employment in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day care, home care organizations, and hospice care. This bill is identical to SB 620.
Patron - Hamilton

P SB112

P SB116

Immunization of children against certain diseases. Sets out the minimum requirements for the immunization of children for the State Board to include in their regulations. The requirements bring the Commonwealth in line with the Immunization Schedule developed and published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. The bill also requires the State Board of Health to review the section annually and make recommendations to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Joint Commission on Health Care. The bill is contingent on funding.
Patron - Howell

P SB117

Immunization of patients against certain diseases. Adds the requirement of a booster dose of tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine in accordance with the board's regulations, which shall also require that, prior to entering sixth grade, a child must have another booster dose of Tdap if more than five years have elapsed since the last dose. This bill is contingent on funding.
Patron - Howell

P SB119

Virginia Donor Registry. Clarifies that the Virginia Transplant Council (VTC) is the agency responsible for the creation, compilation, maintenance, and modification of the Virginia Donor Registry, currently referred to in the Code of Virginia as the Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. The bill consists primarily of technical amendments to arrive at this clarification, including the reordering of the VTC's responsibilities to list the Registry first and updating of the VTC's voting and nonvoting associate membership.
Patron - Howell

P SB190

Summary suspension of licenses of certain group homes and residential facilities under certain circumstances; penalty. Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Commissioner of Social Services to issue orders of summary suspension of a license to operate a group home or other residential facility for children, in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents. The bill also authorizes the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to issue orders of summary suspension of a license to operate a group home or other residential facility for adults, in cases of immediate and substantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents. Since DMHMRSAS obtained identical summary suspension authority for children's group homes and residential facilities in 2005, this bill provides consistency in the legal authority for the interdepartmental licensure program for children's residential facilities by giving all four departments the authority to address egregious circumstances while ensuring due process for the licensees or certificate holders. Emergency regulations are required by the second enactment clause. Technical amendments are also included. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee Studying Private Youth and Single Family Group Homes pursuant to HJR 685 (2005).
Patron - Martin

P SB252

P SB370

Virginia Cord Blood Bank Initiative. Establishes the Virginia Cord Blood Bank Initiative as a public resource for Virginians for the treatment of patients with life-threatening illnesses or debilitating conditions, for use in advancing basic and clinical research, and, in the event of a terrorist attack, to be used in the treatment of the injured citizens of the Commonwealth. The Initiative will be established as a nonprofit legal entity to collect, screen for infectious and genetic diseases, perform tissue typing on, cyropreserve, and store umbilical cord blood and will be a collaborative consortium covering all geographical regions of Virginia. The State Health Commissioner will develop or arrange for or contract with a nonprofit entity for the development of the Initiative. The medical schools, hospitals, biotechnology companies, regional blood banks, laboratories, and others will be requested to participate and assist in the design and implementation of the Initiative. Participants will estimate the costs of implementation and the Commissioner will assist in the development of cost estimates, compare and evaluate the estimates, and negotiate with the participants. The Commissioner will also coordinate the design of the Initiative, such as appropriate contact with pregnant women, obtaining informed consent for donations, storage periods, recycling of the samples and the sale or transfer of the samples being withdrawn from storage for use in basic or clinical research, and the development of reasonable rates and fees for cord blood products. The Initiative will conduct outreach and research, particularly for ethnic and racial minorities. Information will be disseminated through health departments and Medicaid. Women will be offered the opportunity to donate umbilical cord blood; however, no woman will be required to make a cord blood donation. Health care entities must disclose financial remuneration for the collection of the cord blood prior to harvesting it. No person who objects to transfusion or transplantation of blood on the basis of bona fide religious beliefs will be required to participate in the Initiative. The Initiative will be implemented with such funds as may be appropriated or otherwise made available for its purpose. The Commissioner must, upon implementation of the Initiative, seek the development of a nonprofit entity to assume the operation and administration of it and may seek federal, state, and private grant funds for its continuation. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Medical, Ethical, and Scientific Issues Relating to Stem Cell Research in the Commonwealth (HJR 588 of 2005). This bill is identical to HB 413.
Patron - Saslaw

P SB428

Information sharing among users of the Virginia Congenital Anomalies Reporting and Education System. Allows hospitals, medical facilities, and other persons required to report birth defect data to a secure system established by the Commissioner. Hospitals are also authorized to view existing information in the secure system, as authorized by the Commissioner of Health, in order to prevent duplication of reportable information and to facilitate follow-up of patients and minimize costs, while preserving the confidentiality of personally identifiable data and health record information. This bill establishes certain minimum reporting requirements and eliminates the reporting requirement related to Agent Orange exposure. For the purposes of only complying with the reporting requirements, authorized users of the system must provide written affirmation to the Commissioner that the confidentiality of information will be preserved, as a condition to access personally identifiable data. The advisory committee to assist the Board of Health with the promulgation of regulations to implement the system has been retained; however, the specificity of the contents of the regulations has been removed.
Patron - Lambert

P SB519

Designation as rural hospital. Establishes in state law that any medical care facility licensed as a hospital will be considered a rural hospital on and after September 30, 2004, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1395ww(d)(8)(E)(ii)(II), if (i) the hospital is located in an area defined as rural by federal statute or regulation; (ii) the Board of Health defines, in regulation, the area in which the hospital is located as a rural health area or the hospital as a rural hospital; or (iii) the hospital was designated, prior to October 1, 2004, as a Medicare-dependent small rural health hospital, as defined in 42 U.S.C. §1395ww(d)(5)(G)(iv).
Patron - Puckett

P SB620

Failed

F HB123

Medical assistance services; mental health services for at-risk youth. Requires the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to develop and apply for a waiver to obtain Medicaid coverage for children in need of mental health services and who are at risk of institutional placement due to the need for those services. The waiver would be designed to provide behavioral, respite care, and family support services. The number of waiver slots requested would be dependent upon appropriations for this purpose. The bill requires the waiver to be submitted to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by October 1, 2006, and provides for the development of emergency regulations to implement the waiver. The bill is contingent upon appropriations.
Patron - Fralin

F HB189

Licensure of abortion clinics. Requires all abortion clinics, defined as any facility, other than a hospital or an ambulatory surgery center, in which 25 or more first trimester abortions are performed in any 12-month period, to be licensed and to comply with the requirements currently in place for ambulatory surgery centers, except the requirement for a certificate of public need. The Board of Health may also waive certain structural requirements.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB229

Medical Assistance; prevention of chronic conditions. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to include in the state plan a provision for payment of medical assistance for prevention of chronic conditions that, if not prevented, result in long-term treatment and associated costs. "Chronic conditions" includes obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

F HB373

I-SaveRX Prescription Drug Program. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to enter into discussions with the states that are participating in the I-SaveRx prescription drug program implemented by the State of Illinois in October 2004. The memorandum of understanding shall be executed by January 1, 2007, and requires various assessments of the program and reports to the Governor and the relevant standing committees of the General Assembly. This bill incorporates HB 388.
Patron - Carrico

F HB388

F HB426

Comprehensive Services Act; receipt of funds. Requires children's residential facilities to be Medicaid providers in order to be eligible for reimbursement under this Act. This bill also allows the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to enroll out-of-state residential facilities to be Medicaid providers if they are providing services to children under the Act. This bill was incorporated into HB 577.
Patron - Nutter

F HB437

Medical Assistance Services; autism waiver. Requires the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to develop and seek a Medicaid waiver to establish a program for long-term support of children with autism, including treatment using applied behavior analysis. The number of waiver slots requested would be dependent upon appropriations for this purpose. The bill requires the waiver to be submitted to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by October 1, 2006, and provides for the development of emergency regulations to implement the waiver. The bill is contingent upon appropriations.
Patron - Griffith

F HB555

Regulation of medical care services; circulator duties. Directs the Board of Health to require by regulation that circulator duties during surgical procedures be performed by a registered nurse who is present in the operating room and qualified by training and experience in operating room nursing. The bill defines "circulator duties."
Patron - Cox

F HB586

Nursing homes; staffing regulations. Requires a minimum of three and one-half hours of direct care services per resident per 24-hour period as averaged quarterly, to be reported to the State Board of Health using payroll information as reported to the Internal Revenue Service.
Patron - Watts

F HB637

Health records; destruction. Requires facilities holding health records to notify individuals and allow them to obtain their records before such records are destroyed. This bill also makes technical corrections to outdated references in the Code.
Patron - Phillips

F HB688

Land application of sewage sludge. Prohibits the land application of sewage sludge beginning January 1, 2007, unless the sewage sludge is applied in the same locality in which it is generated. The departments that have oversight of the spreading of sewage sludge, the Health Department and the Department of Environmental Quality, are required to certify that the sewage sludge is being applied in a manner that protects human health and the environment, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation is to certify that the nutrient management plan for applying the sewage sludge protects water quality.
Patron - Abbitt

F HB690

Sewage sludge. Prohibits sewage sludge from being stored at a site where it is being land applied for more than three days prior to application.
Patron - Hogan

F HB757

Medical assistance services; certain reform initiatives. Requires the Board of Medical Assistance Services to implement and authorizes contracting for the delivery of effective disease management for individuals with chronic mental or physical disorders. Further, the Board shall implement, insofar as feasible, an online electronic and appropriately encrypted system, including electronic funds transfer technology and electronic benefits cards, e-prescribing, prospective electronic real-time utilization review of services and claims, point-of-sale and point-of-contact submission of claims and payments when possible and online recipient eligibility review and eligibility verification. Health care providers will be encouraged to implement the use of electronic health records. Enactment clauses authorize the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to design fail-safe mechanisms to ensure that no recipient is denied necessary medical or healthcare services because of technology deficiencies during the implementation of the online system and require the Boards of Pharmacy and Medical Assistance Services to collaborate in developing an e-prescription system, properly encrypted and protected after considering various issues relating to electronic signatures, interception of e-mailed prescriptions, issuance of more than one prescription on a document, any required form for e-prescriptions, staff transmission of e-mails for prescribers, application, if any, of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, Chapter 42.1 (§ 59.1-479 et seq.) of Title 59.1, and any other issues the Boards may deem relevant.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB787

F HB1062

DMHMRSAS; pilot program for older adults with mental illness; report. Requires the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to develop a two-year pilot program to provide specialized services for older adults (age 65 and older) who have serious mental illness. The bill sets forth program requirements and objectives, and includes evaluation criteria. The bill requires both interim and final reports.
Patron - Watts

F HB1139

Board of Health; regulation of hospice programs. Requires the Board of Health to develop staffing regulations specific to entities that are concurrently licensed as a hospice and an assisted living facility that would not require the presence on each shift of a registered nurse for any concurrently licensed facility that has no more than four beds and operates within an integrated healthcare system.
Patron - Cline

F HB1151

Restrictions on funding of family planning services. Prohibits the Departments of Health, Medical Assistance Services, and Social Services from making any payment, grant, or expenditure of any state funds used for family planning services, pregnancy testing, and follow-up services to subsidize directly or indirectly abortion services or administrative expenses or to any organization or affiliate of any organization that provides abortion services. "Family planning services" is defined as preconception services that limit or enhance fertility, including contraception methods, the management of infertility, preconception counseling, education, and general reproductive health care. No referrals for abortion services may be made by organizations receiving state funds. Organizations receiving state family planning funds must be independently incorporated from any organization that provides abortion services, must not share the same or similar name, facilities, expenses, employee wages or salaries, equipment, or supplies, and must maintain financial records demonstrating strict compliance with the funding prohibition. An audit must be performed at least every three years.
Patron - Lingamfelter

F HB1274

Health professions; abortion complications reporting; penalty. Requires physicians to report medical treatment for complications arising as a result of an induced abortion. Patient identifiers are not included in the information reported.
Patron - Janis

F HB1394

Medical assistance services. Requires the development and implementation of an online electronic and appropriately encrypted system for recipient eligibility review and eligibility verification, with software designed to detect inaccuracies and to issue alert notices of potential changes in circumstances or program violations. An enactment clause authorizes the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to design fail-safe mechanisms to ensure that no recipient is denied necessary medical or health care services because of technology deficiencies during the implementation of the online system. This bill was incorporated into HB 757.
Patron - Welch

F HB1472

Medicaid; family planning services. Requires the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for payment for family planning services to individuals with a family income up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. These services shall include items such as gynecological examinations, screening for breast and cervical cancer, contraceptive counseling, sexually transmitted disease testing, and referrals for pregnancy and prenatal care. The services shall not include abortions or abortion referrals. The bill contains a technical amendment.
Patron - Saxman

F HB1474

Viral hepatitis; certain awareness program. Requires the State Health Commissioner to establish and administer a viral hepatitis awareness program for the purpose of distributing information to Virginians who are at risk for exposure to viral hepatitis, with emphasis on the risks of viral hepatitis C (HCV) exposure and infection with HCV among Virginia's veterans. The State Health Commissioner is required to provide information by electronic means on the etiology, prevention, and effects of, as well as treatment and testing for, HCV and other viral hepatitis strains, with particular emphasis on veterans and infection with HCV. Upon request, hard copies of the information must be made available.
Patron - Carrico

F SB207

Board of Health regulations; guidelines for staffing of nursing homes. Requires the Board of Health, in its licensure regulations, to establish staffing guidelines for nursing homes and certified nursing facilities to ensure the delivery of quality care that shall establish a minimum of three and one-half hours of direct care services per resident per 24-hour period.
Patron - Edwards

F SB426

Certificate of Public Need; reduced rate for health care services to the medically indigent. Defines "reduced rate," for the purpose of the Commissioner's conditions on approval of a certificate of need, as including the operating losses of a provider network's facility located in a medically underserved area as defined by the Human Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, under Board of Health regulations, the Commissioner of Health is authorized to condition a certificate of need on the agreement of the applicant to provide health care services at a reduced rate to the medically indigent or to accept patients needing specialized care.
Patron - Lambert

F SB647

Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. Modifies the law relating to certificates of birth resulting in stillbirth to provide retroactive application to any circumstances occurring after July 1, 2003, (the effective date of the law), in which the individual listed as the mother or father on a report of fetal death occurring in the Commonwealth did not have knowledge of his right to request a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. The bill also revises the law to provide, consistent with the Board of Health's regulations, that when no report of spontaneous fetal death is available to establish the event, documentation from the following sources is acceptable: the physician or licensed nurse midwife who provided care to the mother, documentation from the medical record maintained at the hospital of occurrence, copy of the report of spontaneous fetal death, or documentation from the funeral service director (if such services were provided).
Patron - O'Brien

Carried Over

C HB129

State Board of Health; emergency orders. Allows the Board to declare an area a hazard to the public health and require that sewer service be offered if existing sewer service is available within one-half mile of the affected area and sufficient capacity exists.
Patron - Cosgrove

C HB343

Board of Health; regulation of hospice programs. Requires the Board of Health to develop staffing regulations specific to entities that are concurrently licensed as a hospice and an assisted living facility. The regulations would require the presence on each shift of a licensed practical nurse rather than a registered nurse.
Patron - Sherwood

C HB444

Stem cell research authorized; requirements. Authorizes stem cell research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source if approved by the Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee. Requires each institution to establish a Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee specifically for the purpose of evaluating and approving such proposals and projects. Additionally, the bill requires that for embryonic stem cells to be eligible for research in the Commonwealth they must meet each of the following requirements: (i) the stem cells must have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics and must have been created for the purposes of fertility treatment; (ii) the stem cells must have been in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment and would otherwise be discarded (as determined in consultation with the individuals seeking fertility treatment); and (iii) the stem cells must have been donated by such individuals with written informed consent and without any financial or other inducements.
Patron - Shuler

C HB572

Medical assistance services; burial expenses disregard. Increases the disregard from countable resources when calculating Medicaid eligibility from $3,500 to $5,000.
Patron - Nixon

C HB768

Health care providers; use of reprocessed single-use medical devices; civil penalty. Prescribes requirements for the use of reprocessed single-use medical devices, other than needles and syringes, by health care providers. The requirements include notice to patients and the patient's ability to refuse the use of reprocessed single-use devices, liability for the safety and effectiveness of such devices, and remedies in the event of a violation of the section. Health care providers include institutions licensed under Title 32.1 as well as individuals licensed under Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia.
Patron - Sickles

C HB875

Access to over-the-counter medications containing the drug Dextromethorphan (DXM). Requires the State Health Commissioner, in the exercise of his authority to act for the Board of Health when it is not in session pursuant to § 32.1-20, to utilize the authority provided to the Board in § 32.1-13, relating to the suppression of nuisances dangerous to public health, to issue an emergency order prescribing corrective actions to restrict access to over-the-counter medications containing the drug Dextromethorphan (DXM) such as, but not limited to, brand and generic cough syrups. Access to the ingredients used to make methamphetamine has been recently restricted in this manner.
Patron - Frederick

C HB1035

Medical assistance services; Inspector General for Medical Assistance Services established. Establishes the Office of Inspector General for Medical Assistance Services for the purpose of providing objective review and evaluation of all activities and services of the Department of Medical Assistance Services and investigation and diligent prosecution of provider or recipient fraud and abuse and sets out the powers and duties of the Inspector General, including access to medical records and reporting requirements.
Patron - Hamilton

C HB1504

Certificate of public need; exemption. Exempts from the definition of "medical care facility" a specialized center for the provision of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) restricted to obese, disabled, or claustrophobic patients.
Patron - Hamilton

C HB1607

Special foods for the management of phenylketonuria. Provides for the reimbursement, in an amount not to exceed $2,000 per diagnosed person per year, to the parents or guardian of a child identified as being a legal resident of the Commonwealth and who is diagnosed as requiring treatment for phenylketonuria (PKU), for the purchase of special food products required in the management of phenylketonuria.
Patron - Gear

C SB684

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