Sen. George Barker

Department of Motor Vehicles documents; blood type. Directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish a method by which an applicant for a driver's license or identification card may indicate his blood type to be noted on his license or card for the purpose of providing emergency medical support by emergency medical services agencies. The bill prohibits the disclosure of such data and provides that the Department is not liable for the accuracy of such data. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2023.

Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board to use at least 25 percent of the funds available for the Transit Ridership Incentive Program for grants to fund reduced-fare or zero-fare transit projects. Under current law, the amount that may be used for such programs is capped at 25 percent. This change expires on July 1, 2024. The bill provides that funds awarded for reduced-fare or zero-fare transit projects shall not be included in the requirement that funds be awarded in accordance with a statewide equitable ratio.

Board of Health; Statewide Telehealth Plan; Virginia Telehealth Network. Requires the Board of Health (the Board) to consult with the Virginia Telehealth Network in amending and maintaining the Statewide Telehealth Plan. The bill requires the Board to contract with the Virginia Telehealth Network, or another Virginia-based nongovernmental, nonprofit organization focused on telehealth if the Virginia Telehealth Network is no longer in existence, to (i) provide direct consultation to any advisory groups and groups tasked by the Board with implementation and data collection, (ii) track implementation of the Statewide Telehealth Plan, and (iii) facilitate changes to the Statewide Telehealth Plan as accepted medical practices and technologies evolve. This bill is identical to HB 81.

Health insurance; association health plan for real estate salespersons. Provides that a licensed insurer may issue a policy of group accident and sickness insurance to an association of real estate salespersons (association), which association shall be deemed the policyholder, and that such association health plan is not considered to be insurance and is not subject to the existing requirements for insurance if certain requirements are met. The bill requires that (i) all members of the association be eligible for coverage and membership, including employer members with at least one employee that is domiciled in the Commonwealth or self-employed individuals; (ii) membership in the association not be conditioned on any health status–related factor; (iii) the coverage offered through the association be available to all members regardless of any health status–related factor; (iv) the association not make health insurance coverage offered through the association available other than in connection with a member of the association; and (v) premiums for the policy be paid from funds contributed by the association or associations, or by employer members, or by both, or from funds contributed by the covered persons or from both the covered persons and the association, associations, or employer members. The bill also requires that the association (a) has at the outset a minimum of 25,000 members; (b) has been organized and maintained in good faith for purposes other than that of obtaining insurance; (c) has been in active existence for at least five years; and (d) has a constitution and bylaws that provide that the association hold regular meetings not less than annually to further purposes of the members, that the association collects dues or solicits contributions from members, and that the members have voting privileges and representation on the governing board and committees.The bill provides that any such policy shall (1) be considered a large group market plan subject to all coverage mandates applicable to a large group market plan, (2) be subject to the group health plan coverage requirements under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (3) be prohibited from denying coverage under the policy on the basis of a pre-existing condition, (4) be guaranteed issue and guaranteed renewable, (5) provide essential health benefits and cost-sharing requirements, and (6) offer a minimum level of coverage designed to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan.The bill requires an insurer issuing such policy to an association to (A) treat all of the members and employees of employer members who are enrolled in coverage under the policy as a single risk pool; (B) set premiums on the basis of the collective group experience of the members and employees of employer members who are enrolled in coverage under the policy; (C) not vary premiums by age, except that the rate shall not vary by more than four to one for adults; (D) not vary premiums on the basis of gender; (E) not vary premiums on the basis of the health status of an individual employee of an employer member or a self-employed individual member; and (F) not establish discriminatory rules based on the health status of an employer member, an individual employee of an employer member, or a self-employed individual for eligibility or contribution.Finally, the bill provides that a policy that meets certain requirements of the bill is considered to be compliant with the large group market insurance regulations under the federal Public Health Service Act and, as such, the Commonwealth is considered to be substantially enforcing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with regard to such policy. The bill requires the State Corporation Commission to regulate the policy in a manner that is consistent with such provisions. The bill provides that, in any case in which a federal agency renders a decision that is contrary to such provisions, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General may resolve any difference between federal law and the laws of the Commonwealth. This bill incorporates SB 397 and is identical to HB 768.

Fair Labor Standards Act; overtime; employer liability. Replaces the current provisions of the Virginia Overtime Wage Act with the provision that any employer that violates the overtime wage requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and any related laws and regulations, shall be liable to its employee for remedies or other relief available under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The bill requires an employer to compensate employees of a derivative carrier, defined in the bill, at a rate not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek. The bill requires the Secretary of Labor to convene a work group that includes certain industry representatives and legislators to review overtime issues and the Virginia Overtime Wage Act  and requires the work group to submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Commerce and Energy and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Commerce and Labor by November 1, 2022. This bill is identical to HB 1173.

Accident and sickness insurance; minimum standards.Authorizes the State Corporation Commission to issue rules andregulations related to accident and sickness insurance minimum standardsand excepted benefits and provides that the purpose of such rulesand regulations is to establish (i) the minimum standards for filingof policy forms for individual and small group health benefit plans,(ii) the minimum standards, terms, and coverages for individual andgroup accident and sickness policies known as excepted benefits, and (iii) the minimum standards for short-term limited-duration insurance.The bill directs the Commission to ensure that such standards aresimple and understandable and are not misleading or unreasonablyconfusing, and that the sale of such policies provides for full disclosure.

Valluvar Highway. Designates Brentwall Drive in Fairfax County as "Valluvar Highway."

Health insurance; coverage for mental healthand substance use disorders; report. Requires the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance to collect certain comparative analyses from health carriers related to mental health parity and to includesuch analyses in a report that (i) describes the methodology theBureau used to verify compliance with the federal Mental Health Parityand Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) and any federal regulationsor guidance relating to MHPAEA; (ii) identifies and summarizes marketconduct examinations conducted or completed during the preceding12-month period regarding compliance with parity in mental healthand substance use disorder benefits under state and federal law;and (iii) details any educational or corrective actions the Bureauhas taken to ensure plan compliance with MHPAEA.

Health carriers; licensed athletic trainers. Requires health insurers and health service plan providers whose policies or contracts cover services that may be legally performed by a licensed athletic trainer to provide equal coverage for such services when rendered by a licensed athletic trainer when such services are performed in an office setting. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Health Insurance Reform Commission. This bill is identical to HB 45.