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2019 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Health Professions

Dunnavant, Suetterlein, Carrico, Barker, Lucas, Peake

Clerk: Patty Lung
Staff: Thomas Stevens
Date of Meeting: January 22, 2019
Time and Place: 8:30 am - Subcommittee Room 2, 5th Fl. Pocahontas Bldg.

S.B. 1004

Patron: Chase

Health care services; payment estimates. Requires practitioners licensed by the Board of Medicine and hospitals to provide a patient or the representative of a patient scheduled to receive a nonemergency procedure, test, or service to be performed by the practitioner or hospital, at least three days in advance of the date of such procedure, test, or service, an estimate of the payment amount for which the participant will be responsible. Under current law, the requirement to provide such estimate applies only to hospitals for elective procedures, tests, or services and only upon request.

S.B. 1124

Patron: Favola

Telemedicine; physicians licensed in contiguous jurisdictions. Authorizes a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy who is in good standing with the applicable regulatory agency of a jurisdiction that is contiguous to the Commonwealth to provide health care services to patients located in the Commonwealth through use of telemedicine services.

S.B. 1221

Patron: Chafin


Telemedicine services; coverage and practice. Requires insurers, corporations, or health maintenance organizations to cover remote patient monitoring services as part of their coverage of telemedicine services to the full extent that these services are available. The bill defines remote patient monitoring services as the delivery of home health services using telecommunications technology to enhance the delivery of home health care, including monitoring of clinical patient data such as weight, blood pressure, pulse, pulse oximetry, blood glucose, and other condition-specific data; medication adherence monitoring; and interactive video conferencing with or without digital image upload.

The bill 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 health care services provided through telemedicine services, including remote monitoring services and the use of telemedicine technologies as it pertains to remote patient monitoring services, to the full extent that these services are available.

The bill provides that provisions of the Code of Virginia regulating health professions regulated by the Board of Medicine do not prevent or prohibit any practitioner of one of such professions who is located in another state and is in good standing with the applicable regulatory agency in such state from providing telemedicine services within the scope of his practice to a patient located in Virginia.

Finally, the bill provides that in cases in which a practitioner of the healing arts is providing telemedicine services, such practice is deemed to occur where the practitioner is located at the time of provision.

S.B. 1308

Patron: Edwards

Prescription drug price gouging prohibited. Prohibits unconscionable price increases in the price of essential off-patent or generic drugs, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to designate drugs as essential drugs, and establishes an enforcement mechanism.

S.B. 1357

Patron: Wagner

Hospitals; price transparency. Requires every hospital to make information regarding the price of certain inpatient and outpatient medical procedures, tests, and services, as determined by the Board of Health, available to the public on a website maintained by the hospital and, upon request, in writing.

S.B. 1452

Patron: McClellan

Dispensing of certain controlled substances and devices; limited license. Authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to issue a limited license at a reduced fee to a prescriber in a nonprofit facility to dispense controlled substances and devices for contraception or treatment of sexually transmitted disease. The bill requires such nonprofit facility to obtain a limited-use permit from the Board and comply with relevant Board regulations and exempts such facility from associated fees. The bill directs the Board of Pharmacy to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.

S.B. 1557

Patron: Dunnavant

Board of Pharmacy; cannabidiol oil and tetrahydrocannabinol oil; regulation of pharmaceutical processors. Alters the definitions of cannabidiol oil and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-A) oil to remove the five percent cap on the concentration of THC permitted to be contained in each oil. The bill allows licensed physician assistants and licensed nurse practitioners to issue a written certification for use of cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil. The bill requires the Board to promulgate regulations establishing dosage limitations, which shall require that each dispensed dose of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil not exceed 10 milligrams and each dispensed package of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil not exceed 100 milligrams. The bill removes the requirement that a licensed pharmacist provide on-premises supervision of pharmaceutical processors and clarifies who may be employed by pharmaceutical processors and the regulations governing such employees.

S.B. 1694

Patron: Barker

Qualified mental health professionals. Requires the Board of Counseling to promulgate regulations for the registration of persons receiving supervised training in order to qualify as a qualified mental health professional. The bill defines the terms "qualified mental health professional-adult," "qualified mental health professional-child," and "qualified mental health professional-trainee."

S.B. 1719

Patron: Marsden


Cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil; registered agents and pharmaceutical processors. Authorizes a patient or, if such patient is a minor or an incapacitated adult, such patient's parent or legal guardian to designate an individual to act as his registered agent for the purposes of receiving cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil pursuant to a valid written certification. Such designated individual is required register with the Board of Pharmacy (Board). The bill authorizes the Board to set a limit on the number patients for whom any individual is authorized to act as a registered agent. The bill authorizes a pharmaceutical processor to dispense cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil to such registered agent and provides such registered agent an affirmative defense for possession of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil.

The bill provides that a pharmacist in charge of a pharmaceutical processor may authorize certain employees access to secured areas designated for cultivation and extraction and other areas approved by the Board and no pharmacist is required to be on the premises during such authorized access. The bill authorizes a pharmaceutical processor, in addition to other employees authorized by the Board, to employ individuals (i) to perform cultivation-related duties under the supervision of an individual who has received a degree in horticulture or a certification or training approved by the Board or who has at least two years of experience cultivating plants and (ii) to perform extraction-related duties under the supervision of an individual who has a degree in chemistry or pharmacology or at least two years of experience extracting chemicals from plants.

The bill directs the Board to promulgate regulations regarding the wholesale sale of and transfer of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil between pharmaceutical processors and removes a requirement that a pharmaceutical processor only dispense cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil cultivated and produced on-site. The bill provides that a pharmaceutical processor may begin cultivation upon being issued a permit by the Board, however, no production of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil shall occur prior to sixty days of the opening date listed in its application. Finally, the bill provides that the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol in any THC-A oil on site at a pharmaceutical processor may be up to 10 percent greater than or less than the level of tetrahydrocannabinol measured for labeling.