Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling

Health insurance; coverage for doula care services. Requires health insurers, corporations providing health care subscription contracts, and health maintenance organizations whose policy, contract, or plan includes coverage for obstetrical services to provide coverage for doula care services provided by a state-certified doula. The bill requires such coverage to include coverage for at least eight visits during the antepartum or postpartum period and support during labor and delivery. The bill provides that health insurance carriers are (i) not required to pay for duplicate services actually rendered by both a state-certified doula and another health care provider and (ii) prohibited from requiring supervision, signature, or referral by any other health care provider as a condition of reimbursement for doula care services, except when those requirements are also applicable to other categories of health care providers.

Virginia Private College Preservation and Maintenance Fund and Program established. Establishes the Virginia Private College Preservation and Maintenance Fund and Program, to be administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in collaboration with the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia and the Department of Historic Resources, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to any nonprofit private institution of higher education whose primary purpose is to provide collegiate, graduate, or professional education and not to provide religious training or theological education to assist with the funding of renovation, restoration, repair, preservation, and deferred maintenance projects, with certain enumerated conditions such as providing sufficient evidence of matching funds for the project in an amount equal to the amount of the grant to be awarded and providing certain documentation and project monitoring for projects involving certified historic structures, as defined in the bill.

Department of Social Services; foster care; new luggage; report. Directs the Department of Social Services to establish and maintain a decentralized supply of new luggage to be used to transport the personal belongings of a child in foster care. The bill requires the Department to provide new luggage to a child who is entering or exiting foster care or moving from one foster care placement to another and prohibits the Department from using disposable bags or trash bags to transport any items for a child in foster care. The bill requires the Commissioner of Social Services to report certain information related to new luggage to the General Assembly by no later than December 1 of each year.

Access to Housing Task Force; report. Establishes the Access to Housing Task Force for the purpose of evaluating short-term and long-term access to housing in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly no later than November 1, 2026.

Comprehensive children's health care coverage program. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (the Department) to establish a program to provide state-funded comprehensive health care coverage for individuals in the Commonwealth who are (i) under 19 years of age and (ii) not covered under a group health plan or health insurance coverage, or otherwise eligible for medical assistance services through the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance services established pursuant to Title XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act. The bill also requires the Department to ensure that all program information is made available in a manner that is accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with disabilities through the provision of language access services, including oral interpretation and written translation, free of charge and to ensure that information obtained by the program remains confidential and is not disclosed for any purpose not related to the administration of the program or any purpose related to civil immigration enforcement unless the subject of the information consents to such disclosure or the requesting agency presents a valid judicial order, subpoena, or warrant. The bill requires the Department to seek all federal waivers and other approvals necessary to maximize federal financial participation in the cost of carrying out the program established by the bill.

Palliative Care Information and Education Program; Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council established. Directs the Board of Health to include in its regulations a requirement that every hospital, nursing home, and certified nursing facility licensed by the Board (i) establish a system for identifying patients or residents who may benefit from palliative care and (ii) provide information about and facilitate access to appropriate palliative care services for patients or residents experiencing illness, injuries, or conditions that substantially affect quality of life for more than a short period of time. The bill also directs the Department of Health to establish a palliative care consumer and professional information and education program to maximize the effectiveness of palliative care initiatives in the Commonwealth by (a) ensuring that comprehensive and accurate information and education about palliative care is available to the public, health care providers, and health care facilities and (b) implementing such other initiatives related to education about palliative care and the delivery of palliative care services as may be necessary to educate health care professionals and the public about palliative care. The bill further establishes the Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council to advise the Department on matters related to the establishment, operation, maintenance, and outcomes evaluations of such initiatives. The bill directs the Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council to study the possibility of establishing a Medicaid benefit for palliative care and the need for a licensure scheme for palliative care providers. The bill further directs the Board of Health to develop a statewide advanced care planning campaign to increase public awareness of available palliative care options.

Average teacher salary in the Commonwealth; national average. Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2027 and 2028 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly to propose funding for, and state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly during 2027 or 2028 to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average teacher salary by the end of fiscal year 2029 and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement.

Department of Health; Department of Social Services; publicly accessible nursing home information portal; publicly accessible assisted living facility information portal; reporting of incidents involving emergency medical services. Directs the Department of Health to establish a nursing home information portal and the Department of Social Services to establish an assisted living facility information portal to consolidate publicly available information on nursing homes and assisted living facilities, respectively. The bill requires operators of nursing homes and assisted living facilities to submit a quarterly report to the Department of Health or the Department of Social Services, respectively, with information on incidents involving emergency medical services.

Work-Based Learning Coordinator Pilot Program established. Establishes the Work-Based Learning Coordinator Pilot Program for the purpose of expanding equitable access to high-quality work-based learning experiences for public school students. The bill requires the Department of Education to administer the Pilot Program by selecting 12 to 24 school divisions or consortia thereof as participants. Under the bill, each participating school division is required to employ or contract with a work-based learning coordinator to perform certain duties over the three-year pilot period, including executing written agreements with employer partners to provide work-based learning experiences for students, such as paid or unpaid internships, cooperative education, clinical experiences, youth-registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, externships, job shadowing, and school-based enterprises. The bill also contains provisions relating to the funding of and the reporting of data pursuant to the Pilot Program. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2029.

Health insurance; coverage for speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering. Requires health insurance carriers whose health care plans include coverage for habilitative services and rehabilitative services, as such terms are defined in the bill, to provide coverage for habilitative speech therapy and rehabilitative speech therapy, as such terms are defined in the bill, as a treatment for stuttering. The bill provides that such coverage is not (i) subject to any maximum annual benefit limit, including any limits on the number of visits an insured may make to a speech-language pathologist; (ii) limited based on the type of disease, injury, disorder, or other medical condition that resulted in the stuttering; or (iii) subject to utilization review or utilization management requirements, including prior authorization or a determination that the habilitative or rehabilitative speech therapy services are medically necessary. The bill applies to health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2027.