Healthcare

Department of Medical Assistance Services; earned income disregard; cost-of-living adjustment. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek the necessary federal approvals to increase, as necessary based upon Social Security Administration cost-of-living adjustments, the earned income disregard for workers with disabilities.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan; literacy pilot program. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek the necessary permissions from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to authorize and fund a pilot program promoting early literacy and parental bonding as part of routine pediatric primary care visits in select underserved localities through a partnership with Reach Out and Read.

Health insurance; application of cost-sharing prohibitions. Provides that provisions of state law that prohibit a health insurance carrier from imposing a cost-sharing requirement on an enrollee for receiving a health care service (i) apply only when such enrollee receives such health care service from a participating provider under the health benefit plan and (ii) do not apply if the application of such prohibition would disqualify a high-deductible health benefit plan from eligibility for a health savings account under federal law.

Inspection of certified nursing facilities; compliance with federal reporting requirements; civil penalty. Directs the Department of Health to include validation of compliance with federal reporting requirements in its inspection process for certified nursing facilities. The bill requires certified nursing facilities to submit a quarterly report detailing (i) all self-reported incidents and compliance issues submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the preceding quarter; (ii) any corrective actions taken in response to self-reported incidents; and (iii) updates on ongoing investigations related to reported incidents. The Department may impose a penalty on a certified nursing facility that fails to comply with the reporting requirements imposed by the bill, which may include a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000, increased frequency of inspections, and suspension or revocation of the certified nursing facility's license.

Tax Commissioner; information sharing; eligibility for medical assistance. Authorizes the Tax Commissioner to provide to the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange information voluntarily provided by taxpayers for the purposes of identifying persons who meet the income eligibility requirements for medical assistance and would like to newly enroll in medical assistance. The bill authorizes the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange to divulge to the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Social Services, upon entering into a written agreement, such information to facilitate such enrollments and applications, as applicable. The bill contains technical amendments and is effective for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026.

Emergency custody orders; transportation to treatment center or to residence of the person subject to emergency custody order. Provides that transportation provided pursuant to an emergency custody order shall include, upon completion of emergency medical evaluation or treatment, transportation to an approved treatment center or to the residence of the person subject to the emergency custody order.

Nursing homes and certified nursing facilities; required liability insurance coverage. Provides that the regulations of the Board of Health shall require purchasers of licensed nursing homes or certified nursing facilities with claims-made policies of liability insurance coverage to purchase an extended reporting endorsement of two years after the date of sale or to purchase liability insurance coverage with dates that begin two years prior to the date the existing owner's policies end.

Department of Veterans Services; Department of Health Professions; military medical personnel; program; work group; report. Expands the definition of "military medical personnel" for the purposes of the program established by the Department of Veterans Services (the Department), in collaboration with the Department of Health Professions, that allows such military medical personnel to practice and perform certain delegated acts that constitute the practice of medicine or nursing to include other enlisted service members who have successfully completed appropriate technical training and any required certifications and who were discharged or released from such service under conditions other than dishonorable. Under current law, "military medical personnel" means an individual who has recently served as a medic in the United States Army, medical technician in the United States Air Force, medical personnel in the United States Space Force, or corpsman in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard.The bill allows such military medical personnel participating in the program to be supervised by any licensed practitioner, as defined in the bill. Current law allows such personnel to be supervised by a physician or podiatrist. The bill directs the Department of Veterans Services to convene a work group to provide guidance on the implementation and further development of the Military Medics and Corpsmen program and to report its findings to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2026.

Competency treatment in misdemeanor proceedings. Provides that in cases where the defendant has been charged with a misdemeanor offense, the court may (i) order inpatient or outpatient treatment or (ii) dismiss the charges. Where a defendant is found to be incompetent, the bill permits a court to (a) order that such defendant receive treatment to restore his competency on an outpatient basis in a local correctional facility or at a location determined by the appropriate community services board or behavioral health authority, (b) order that such defendant receive treatment to restore his competency on an inpatient basis at a hospital designated by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as appropriate for treatment of persons under criminal charge, (c) order that such defendant be evaluated to determine whether he meets the criteria for temporary detention, or (d) dismiss the misdemeanor charge and release such defendant. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Therapeutic interchange and adaptation. Authorizes pharmacists to perform therapeutic interchanges by substituting a drug with another drug in the same therapeutic class when such substitution lowers the cost or is cost-neutral to the patient or the prescribed drug is in a drug shortage and the substitution conforms to Board of Pharmacy regulations. The bill directs the Board of Pharmacy to determine which therapeutic classes of drugs shall be eligible for therapeutic interchange and which classes shall be prohibited. The bill also authorizes pharmacists to adapt prescriptions by changing the dosage form or quantity of a medication or by completing missing information on a prescription when there is evidence to support such change.