Health insurance; cost-sharing payments for prescription asthma inhalers. Prohibits health insurance companies and other carriers from setting an amount exceeding $50 per 30-day supply of a tier one or tier two prescription asthma inhaler that a covered person is required to pay at the point of sale in order to receive a covered prescription asthma inhaler unless the carrier is prohibited from providing the additional benefits under state or federal law. The measure also prohibits a provider contract between a carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy from containing a provision (i) authorizing the carrier's pharmacy benefits manager or the pharmacy to charge, (ii) requiring the pharmacy to collect, or (iii) requiring a covered person to make a cost-sharing payment for a covered prescription asthma inhaler in an amount that exceeds such limitation. The provisions apply with respect to health plans and provider contracts entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2022.
Del. Alex Q. Askew
Sponsored bills
Facilitate the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine; emergency. Facilitates the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. The bill requires the Department of Health (the Department) to establish a program to enable eligible health care providers to volunteer to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents of the Commonwealth during a state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic declared by the Governor. The bill defines "eligible health care provider" and provides that the program shall include (i) a process by which an eligible health care provider may register to participate in the program and (ii) the training requirements for participating eligible health care providers related to the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, including training on the intramuscular injection of the COVID-19 vaccine and contraindications and side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. The bill specifies requirements that the Department shall ensure that each site at which COVID-19 vaccinations are administered by eligible health care providers satisfies. The bill also requires the Department to establish a process by which entities, including medical care facilities, hospitals, hospital systems, corporations, businesses, pharmacies, public and private institutions of higher education, localities, and any other professional or community entity operating in the Commonwealth, may volunteer their facilities as sites at which the COVID-19 vaccine may be administered to residents of the Commonwealth. The bill permits a public institution of higher education or a private institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to volunteer to provide assistance to the Department and local health departments for data processing, analytics, and program development related to the COVID-19 vaccine through the use of its employees, students, technology, and facilities. The bill also permits localities with fire departments, emergency medical services departments, and volunteer rescue squads to establish and staff vaccine administration clinics. The bill provides civil and criminal immunity to individuals and professional entities acting pursuant to the bill and contains an emergency clause. This bill is identical to SB 1445.
Virginia Beach Sports or Entertainment Project;bond issuance. Amends provisions related to bond issuance forpurposes of the Virginia Beach Sports or Entertainment Project. The bill (i) enables bonds to be issued with maturities no later thanthe expiration of the City of Virginia Beach's entitlement to certainsales and use tax and (ii) clarifies the authority of the City ofVirginia Beach to issue refunding bonds.
Celebrating the life of Thomas Henry Francis.
Commending Mona Gunn.
Celebrating the life of Yvonne Leonard.
Commending Steven R. Cover.
Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases; local authority to apply to certain emergency services personnel. Adds full-time, salaried emergency medical services personnel employed by any locality that has authorized such presumption by ordinance to the list of persons to whom, after five years of service, the occupational disease presumption for death caused by hypertension or heart disease applies. This bill was incorporated into HB 1818.
Teacher compensation; at or above national average.Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate thatis at or above the national average. Under current law, compensationat such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding tobe provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficientto fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries,effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 schoolyear. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable BernardS. Cohen.