Telemedicine services; remote patient monitoring services. Requires the Board of Medical Assistance Services to include in the state plan for medical assistance services a provision for the payment of medical assistance for remote patient monitoring services provided via telemedicine for (i) high-risk pregnant persons; (ii) medically complex infants and children; (iii) transplant patients; (iv) patients who have undergone surgery, for up to three months following the date of such surgery; and (v) patients with a chronic health condition who have had two or more hospitalizations or emergency department visits related to such chronic health condition in the previous 12 months. The services include monitoring of clinical patient data such as weight, blood pressure, pulse, pulse oximetry, blood glucose, and other patient physiological data; treatment adherence monitoring; and interactive video conferencing with or without digital image upload. The bill also clarifies the definition of "telemedicine services" to provide that nothing in the bill precludes coverage for a service that is not a telemedicine service, including real-time audio-only telehealth services. The bill directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to adopt regulations for reimbursement for telemedicine services delivered through audio-only telephone and to promulgate and adopt uniform regulations for remote patient monitoring for all Medicaid managed care organizations to implement and follow. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. This bill incorporates SB 1416.
Sponsored bills
Illegal gambling; skill games; civil penalty; enforcement by localities and Attorney General. Provides that any person who conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or owns a gambling device that is located in an unregulated location is subject to a civil penalty of up to $25,000. The bill provides that the Attorney General, an attorney for the Commonwealth, or the attorney for any locality may cause an action in equity to be brought in the name of the Commonwealth or of the locality, as applicable, to enjoin the operation of a gambling device in violation of this section and may request attachment against all such devices and any moneys within such devices. The bill provides that any civil penalties brought in the name of the Commonwealth shall be paid into the Literary Fund and that any civil penalties brought in the name of a locality shall be paid into the general fund of the locality.
Disposition of the unrestorably incompetentdefendant; capital murder charge; inpatient custody of the Commissionerof the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.Provides that a court may commit a capital murder defendant tothe inpatient custody of the Commissioner of the Department of BehavioralHealth and Developmental Services provided that such defendant hasremained unrestorably incompetent for a period of five years. Thebill provides that after such defendant has been committed to the inpatient custody of the Commissioner, he may make interfacilitytransfers and treatment and management decisions regarding such defendantafter obtaining prior approval of or review by the committing court. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Transportation electrification; Virginia EnergyPlan. Amends the Virginia Energy Plan to include an analysisof electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other infrastructureneeded to support the 2045 net-zero carbon target in the transportationsector.
Behavioral Health Commission created. Createsthe Behavioral Health Commission in the legislative branch of stategovernment for the purpose of (i) studying and making recommendationsfor the improvement of behavioral health services and the behavioralhealth service system in the Commonwealth to encourage the adoptionof policies to increase the quality and availability of and ensureaccess to the full continuum of high-quality, effective, and efficientbehavioral health services for all persons in the Commonwealth and(ii) providing ongoing oversight of behavioral health services andthe behavioral health service system in the Commonwealth, includingmonitoring and evaluation of established programs, services, anddelivery and payment structures and implementation of new servicesand initiatives in the Commonwealth and development of recommendations for improving such programs, services, structures, and implementation.
State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program. Creates the State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program (the program) to facilitate child placements with relatives, including fictive kin, and ensure permanency for children. The bill sets forth eligibility criteria for the program, payment allowances to kinship guardians, and requirements for kinship guardianship assistance agreements.
Child care providers; background check portability; subsidy pilot program; report. Exempts prospective employees and volunteers of certain child care providers from statutory background check requirements where the individual completed a background check within the previous five years, provided that (i) such background check was conducted after July 1, 2017; (ii) the results of such background check indicated that the individual had not been convicted of any barrier crime and was not the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect; and (iii) the individual is an employee or volunteer of a child care provider that is subject to background check requirements or has been separated from such employment or volunteer position for not more than 180 days. The bill requires such child care providers, prior to hiring or allowing to volunteer any individual without the completion of a background check, to obtain written certification that such individual satisfies all such requirements and is eligible to serve as an employee or volunteer. The bill also directs the Department of Education (the Department) to establish a two-year pilot program for the purpose of stabilizing and improving the quality of services provided in the Commonwealth's child care industry. The bill provides that under the pilot program a fixed sum of funds, based on the number of children served and certain other factors, will be disbursed to participating child care providers who agree to meet higher standards of quality and care, as determined by the Department. The bill requires the Department to report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 1 of each year of the pilot program certain information set forth in the bill. The bill also requires the Department, in collaboration with the School Readiness Committee, to (a) identify and analyze financing strategies that can be used to support the systemic costs of high-quality child care services, ensure equitable compensation for child care staff, and better prepare children for kindergarten and (b) analyze the effectiveness of using a cost-of-quality modeling system for the child care subsidy program. The bill requires the Department to report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2021.
Alcoholic beverage control; sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. Allows distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (the Authority), mixed beverage restaurant licensees, and limited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption and deliver such mixed beverages to consumers subject to requirements set forth in the bill. The bill allows the Board to summarily revoke a licensee's privileges to sell and deliver mixed beverages for off-premises consumption for noncompliance with the requirements set forth in the bill or applicable provisions of current law. The bill also allows farm winery licensees to sell pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. The bill directs the Authority to convene a work group to study the sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption and report its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2021. The provisions of the bill sunset on July 1, 2022. This bill incorporates SB 1388.
Confirmatory adoption. Expands the stepparentadoption provisions to allow a person who is not the child's stepparentbut has a legitimate interest in the child to file a joint petitionfor adoption with the child's birth parent or parent by adoption.
Emergency order for adult protective services;acts of violence, force, or threat or financial exploitation; penalty.Allows the circuit court, upon a finding that an incapacitated adulthas been, within a reasonable period of time, subjected to an actof violence, force, or threat or been subjected to financial exploitation,to include in an emergency order for adult protective services oneor more of the following conditions to be imposed on the alleged perpetrator: (i) a prohibition on acts of violence, force, or threator criminal offenses that may result in injury to person or property;(ii) a prohibition on such other contacts by the alleged perpetratorwith the adult or the adult's family or household members as thecourt deems necessary for the health and safety of such persons; or(iii) such other conditions as the court deems necessary to prevent(a) acts of violence, force, or threat; (b) criminal offenses thatmay result in injury to persons or property; (c) communication orother contact of any kind by the alleged perpetrator; or (d) financialexploitation by the alleged perpetrator. The bill provides that anyperson who violates any such condition is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.Also, the bill provides that hearings on emergency orders for adultprotective services shall be held no earlier than 24 hours and nolater than 72 hours after the notice required has been given, unlesssuch notice has been waived by the court. Current law just requiressuch hearing be held no earlier than 24 hours.