Del. Richard P. Bell

Provides that a direct agreement between a patient, the patient's legal representative, or the patient's employer and a health care provider for ongoing primary care services in exchange for the payment of a monthly periodic fee is not health insurance or a health maintenance organization, if patients are not required to pay monthly periodic fees prior to initiation of the direct agreement coverage period. The measure also provides that a health care provider who participates in a direct primary care practice may participate in a health insurance carrier network so long as the provider is willing and able to meet the terms and conditions of network membership set by the health insurance carrier. The measure establishes requirements for disclosures regarding direct primary care agreements, including a list of the services covered under the agreement. This bill is identical to

Provides that no person shall be (i) required to participate in the solemnization of any marriage or (ii) subject to any penalty by the Commonwealth, or its political subdivisions or representatives or agents, solely on account of such person's belief, speech, or action in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman. The bill defines "person" as any (a) religious organization; (b) organization supervised by or controlled by or operated in connection with a religious organization; (c) individual employed by a religious organization while acting in the scope of his paid or volunteer employment; (d) successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality of any of the foregoing; or (e) clergy member or minister. The bill also defines "penalty." This bill is identical to

Defines "charity care" and "bad debt" as used in the context of certificate of public need, establishes a uniform framework for determining the value of charity care provided, and requires health care providers to report data on (i) the total amount of charity care that the facility provides to indigent persons; (ii) the number of patients to whom charity care is provided; (iii) the specific services delivered to patients that are reported as charity care; and (iv) the portion of the total amount of charity care provided that each service represents. The bill also requires health care providers to report data and information for any parent or subsidiary company of the health care provider that operates in the Commonwealth and requires every hospital that receives a disproportionate share hospital adjustment to report the number of inpatient days attributed to patients eligible for Medicaid but not Medicare Part A and the total amount of the disproportionate share hospital adjustment received. Finally, the bill requires the Commissioner of Health to report to the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Finance and Education and Health, by November 1, 2018, a data analysis comparing the value of certain charity care services under various methods of valuation. The bill has a partial delayed effective date.

Establishes the Board of the Virginia Virtual School (the Board) as a policy agency in the executive branch of state government for the purpose of governing the full-time virtual school programs offered to students enrolled in the Virginia Virtual School (the School). The Secretary of Education is responsible for such agency. The 14-member Board is given operational control of the School and assigned powers and duties. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, the bill requires the School to be open to any school-age person in the Commonwealth and to provide an educational program meeting the Standards of Quality for grades kindergarten through 12, with a maximum enrollment of 5,000 students statewide. The bill requires the average state share of Standards of Quality per pupil funding for each enrolled student to be transferred to the School. This bill is identical to

Provides that, notwithstanding any voluntary agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor and the franchisee or franchisor, neither a franchisee nor a franchisee's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the franchisee's franchisor. The measure also provides that this exclusion does not apply with respect to a specific claim for relief made by a franchisee or a franchisee's employee if the franchisor has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have exercised a type or degree of control over the franchisee or the franchisee's employees not customarily exercised by a franchisor for the purpose of protecting the franchisor's trademarks and brand.

Permits the parent of a public preschool, elementary, or secondary school student who meets certain criteria to apply to the school division in which the student resides for a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Account that consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the resident school division in which the student resides, including the per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding to which the student is eligible. The bill permits the parent to use the moneys in such account for certain education-related expenses of the student, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks at a private, sectarian or nonsectarian elementary or secondary school or preschool that is located in the Commonwealth and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The bill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, and reviewing expenses made from such accounts. The bill contains a reenactment clause.