Board of Health; fee for Certificate of BirthResulting in Stillbirth. Removes the requirement that the Boardof Health prescribe a reasonable fee to cover the administrativecost and preparation of a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth.
Insurance; examinations; health care providerpanels. Requires the State Corporation Commission to conductan examination of the business and affairs of an insurer upon (i)request by a statewide association representing health care professionalsaffirming no less than 10 complaints alleging insurer misconductin a six-month period from providers participating in such insurer's network or (ii) verifiable information that such insurer has violatedany law, regulation, or prior order of the Commission. The bill requiresthe Commission to publish a reasonably detailed summary of each violationand any corrective action plan on the Commission website within 60days of the completion of an examination. The bill requires a healthinsurer that uses a provider panel to establish procedures for (a)notifying a provider at least 90 days prior to the implementationof a policy that restricts enrollee access to the provider's services,(b) providing reasonable notice to primary care providers in the insurer's provider panel prior to the implementation of a policy thatrestricts enrollee access to the specialty referral services provider,and (c) notifying the purchaser of the health benefit plan of anychange in policy that restricts enrollee access to a contracted provider.Finally the bill requires a health insurer to provide with a renewalcoverage proposal written notice of intent to increase by more than15 percent the annual premium charged for coverage.
Practice of physician assistants. Removesthe requirement that physician assistants appointed as medical examinerspractice as part of a patient care team. For hospice program licensing,the bill adds physician assistants to the list of hospice personnelwho may be part of a medically directed interdisciplinary team. Thebill removes a reference to physician assistants in the definitionof patient care team podiatrist. Finally, the bill permits physicianassistants working in the field of orthopedics as part of a patientcare team to utilize fluoroscopy for guidance of diagnostic and therapeuticprocedures, provided other requirements are met.
Board of Education; stakeholder group; evaluation of and recommendations for certain current and proposed policies and performance standards for public elementary and secondary schools. Requires the Board of Education to collaborate with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Secretary of Education to evaluate, to implement where possible, and to otherwise make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the following goals: (i) promoting excellence in instruction and student achievement in mathematics; (ii) increasing the number of academic year Governor's Schools in the Commonwealth and maintaining standards of excellence for students in all such schools; (iii) preserving the Advanced Studies Diploma as an option for students in public high schools in the Commonwealth; (iv) increasing the transparency and honesty of performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth and ensuring that such measures do not obscure or conceal disparities in performance among student groups and reduce or eliminate disparities among student groups; (v) ensuring that performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools prioritize the attainment of grade-level proficiency and growth during the course of a school year and from school year to school year in reading and mathematics for all students, especially in grades kindergarten through five; (vi) ensuring that the Commonwealth's proficiency standards on Standards of Learning assessments in reading and mathematics are rigorous in comparison with assessments administered by other states and national assessments in reading and mathematics; and (vii) restoring a strong accreditation system that promotes meaningful accountability year-over-year. The bill requires the Secretary of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, no later than November 30, 2022, to report to the chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health the results of such evaluation and recommendations to achieve such goals.
Human trafficking training for law-enforcement personnel. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish training standards for law-enforcement personnel regarding the recognition, prevention, and reporting of human trafficking. This bill is identical to SB 467.
Bail for a person accused of a crime that is an act of violence; notice to attorney for the Commonwealth. Requires a magistrate to transmit within 24 hours a copy of the checklist for bail determination form to the attorney for the Commonwealth when a magistrate conducts a bail hearing for a person arrested on a warrant or capias for an act of violence. The bill also provides that transmission of such copy to the attorney for the Commonwealth may be by facsimile or other electronic means. This bill is identical to SB 614.
Health workforce development; Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development; Virginia Health Workforce Development Fund. Creates the position of Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development (the Special Advisor) in the Office of the Governor and creates the Virginia Health Workforce Development Fund to (i) provide incentives for the removal of barriers to educating and training health workforce professionals that include increasing eligible faculty, clinical placements, and residencies; (ii) incentivize the production of health workforce credentials, degrees, and licensures based on a rigorous analysis of the need by the Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment; (iii) address regulatory barriers to entering into and staying in health professions; and (iv) provide education and training for health and health science professionals to align education and training initiatives with existing and evolving health workforce needs. The bill also requires the Special Advisor to review and evaluate the structure and organization of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (the Authority) and make recommendations regarding the long-term administrative structure and funding of the Authority to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2022. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2026.
Ukraine; Russian invasion. Expressing thesense of the General Assembly on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable FloraLonette Davis Crittenden.
Commending Bob Brown.
