This bill (SB 831) reallocates $200,000 within an existing budget line for West Virginia's Department of Human Services Community Mental Health Services (Fund 8794). It decreases funding from the "Federal Coronavirus Pandemic" account and increases funding for "Personal Services and Employee Benefits" to cover staffing costs. The bill does not create new programs or change eligibility for services - it simply shifts existing federal funds between two internal budget categories. This adjustment affects how the Department of Human Services allocates resources for mental health services within its current fiscal year budget.
SB 819 redirects $4,906,630 from an unappropriated surplus balance in West Virginia's General Revenue Fund to William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital (fund 0413) for fiscal year 2026. The bill supplements the hospital's existing appropriation by adding a new line item for "Current Expenses - Surplus" to cover operational costs. This procedural budget adjustment directly affects the hospital's funding for the 2026 fiscal year without changing health care policies or creating new obligations. The funds were identified in the Governor's Executive Budget Document as available surplus.
SB 828 is a procedural bill that allocates unspent funds from the Department of Human Services' Medicaid State Share Fund (Fund 5090) for fiscal year 2026. It directs $174,483,090 already designated for "Medical Services" to cover ongoing Medicaid provider payments, using money remaining unappropriated after the fiscal year began. This bill does not create new policy or change eligibility - it simply ensures existing unspent Medicaid funds are used for medical services as intended. It directly affects Medicaid providers in West Virginia by securing payment for covered services.
SB 742 modifies West Virginia's involuntary hospitalization process by allowing an authorized hospital physician to place a person under a 72-hour hold without first contacting specific officials (like mental hygiene commissioners). It removes the previous 24-hour deadline for filing a formal petition to extend the hold, instead requiring this petition to be filed within 72 hours. The bill also ensures hospitals and physicians are paid standard rates for these services and are protected from liability when acting in good faith. This directly affects individuals facing involuntary hospitalization for mental illness or addiction and the healthcare providers managing their care.
SB 897 establishes licensing and certification requirements for alcohol and drug counselors in West Virginia. It defines key terms like "substance use disorder" and "practice of alcohol and drug counseling," which includes evaluating addiction issues, developing treatment plans, and providing trauma-informed care. The bill sets eligibility criteria, application fees, renewal fees, and grandfathering provisions for existing counselors based on education or experience. It also creates disciplinary actions for violations and specifies exceptions for healthcare providers, state employees, and self-help groups. This bill directly affects counselors seeking to provide substance use disorder treatment services in the state.
SB 741 expands the pilot program for involuntary commitment processes to include additional counties: Cabell, Berkeley, Hampshire, Morgan, Ohio, and Wood. The bill requires mental health centers in these counties to provide timely evaluations (in-person or via video) for potential commitment and explain the process to affected individuals. It also mandates quarterly audits of commitment applications to ensure clinical justification, with findings kept confidential. This bill directly affects mental health centers, courts, law enforcement, and individuals subject to involuntary commitment in the expanded counties.
This bill allows doctors in West Virginia to legally prescribe, distribute, and market specific forms of psilocybin once the FDA approves it and the DEA reschedules it. It amends state pharmacy laws to remove barriers for FDA-approved crystalline polymorph psilocybin products, aligning state regulations with federal decisions. The law applies only to pharmaceutical compositions of psilocybin that meet federal approval standards, not to raw or unapproved forms of the substance. Healthcare providers and pharmacies would be able to handle these medications under existing prescription drug frameworks once federal requirements are met.
This bill establishes a value-based payment system for West Virginia's Medicaid addiction care services, shifting from fee-for-service to rewarding providers based on patient recovery outcomes. It directly affects Medicaid providers treating substance use disorders by requiring them to use standardized billing codes starting in 2027 and report on five specific outcome metrics: housing stability, sobriety, avoidance of criminal justice involvement, self-sufficiency (employment/education), and provider transition plans. The bill mandates data collection and analysis by the Bureau for Medical Services to develop these metrics, with value-based payments requiring implementation by 2028. The goal is to create a coordinated care system focused on long-term recovery success rather than fragmented service volume.
SB 650 amends West Virginia law to define a psychiatric hospital treating exclusively civil and forensic patients (with over 95% of its inpatient census being court-ordered forensic or civil involuntary commitments from state custody) as a "state-designated facility" for tax purposes. This change excludes such hospitals from the category of "eligible acute care hospitals" subject to a 0.75% tax on gross receipts, exempting them from this tax. The bill directly affects psychiatric hospitals in West Virginia meeting this specific patient mix requirement by altering their tax classification under the Medicaid funding structure.
West Virginia Senate Bill 645 prohibits non-network ambulance services from charging patients extra fees beyond standard insurance cost-sharing. It requires insurers to pay non-participating ambulance providers directly at 400% of the Medicare rate (or the provider’s billed amount, whichever is lower) within 30 days of a clean claim. Patients cannot be billed for amounts beyond their standard copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles, and insurers must provide written denial notices with specific reasons. This applies to ground ambulance services covered under health insurance policies issued on or after January 1, 2027.
