Health Care Insurance Access

Access to Quality Health Care/Insurance

Bills Committee Last action Date
HB 10 – Cole – BPOL tax; maximum fee and tax rates established by a locality. (H) Committee on Finance
(S) Committee on Finance		 (S) Referred to Committee on Finance 02/03/12
notes:
Precludes a locality from increasing its local license (BPOL) fees or taxes above the rates of its BPOL fees and taxes imposed for the 2011 license year. The bill also provides that a locality that elects to impose a BPOL tax on Virginia taxable income may not thereafter impose the tax on gross receipts.
HB 11 – Cole – Transportation; bonds for specific project on northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 95. (H) Committee on Appropriations (H) Subcommittee recommends laying on the table 01/30/12
notes:
Authorizes the Commonwealth Transportation Board to issue bonds in the principal amount of $550 million to finance the cost of adding an additional lane on both the northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 95 from Dumfries to Massaponax in Spotsylvania County to expand the regular travel lanes (not the HOV lanes).
HB 62 – Cole – Abortion funding; repealed. (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (H) VOTE: PASSAGE (64-Y 35-N) 02/03/12
notes:
Repeals the section authorizing the Board of Health to fund abortions for women who meet the financial eligibility criteria of the State Plan for Medical Assistance in cases in which a physician certifies that he believes that the fetus would be born with a gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency.
HB 702 – Filler-Corn – Health insurance; credits provided for retired school division employees. (H) Committee on Appropriations (H) Assigned App. sub: Compensation and Retirement 01/16/12
notes:
Provides that the health insurance credit currently being provided to retired teachers would also be provided to all retired employees of the local school division at the option of the local school division and as a cost borne by the local government.
HB 705 – Filler-Corn – Health insurance; diagnostic procedures resulting from preventive care or screening. (H) Committee on Commerce and Labor (H) Assigned C & L sub: #1 01/19/12
notes:
Prohibits a health carrier from imposing cost-sharing requirements with respect to any diagnostic service or test, or related procedure, that is administered or conducted as a result of, or in conjunction with, preventive care or screening if the health carrier is prohibited from imposing any cost-sharing requirements with respect to the preventive care or screening. The measure expires July 1, 2014, which is the same expiration date that applies to the existing provision that bars health carriers from imposing cost-sharing requirements with respect to preventive care and screenings.
HB 709 – Kilgore – Motor vehicle insurance; medical expense benefits, assignments. (H) Committee on Commerce and Labor (H) Continued to 2013 in Commerce and Labor 01/24/12
notes:
Invalidates assignments of medical expenses benefits provided under a motor vehicle liability insurance policy. Medical expense benefits due to a covered injured person may be paid directly to a state or federal assistance program that provided benefits to such injured person that arose out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle. The measure also provides that medical expense benefits may not be reduced because of any benefits paid, payable, or provided by a health insurance policy.
HB 715 – Kilgore – Human Resource Management, Department of; state health plan. (H) Committee on General Laws
(S) Committee on General Laws and Technology		 (S) Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology 02/02/12
notes:
Makes necessary changes to the appeals process for complaints relating to the state health plan to conform Virginia law to federal health care reform. The bill removes the provision that coverage for mental disorders provided not be diminished or reduced below the coverage in effect for such disorders on January 1, 1999.
HB 738 – Jones – Human Resource Management, Department of; health and related insurance for state employees. (H) Committee on General Laws
(S) Committee on Finance		 (S) Referred to Committee on Finance 02/02/12
notes:
Clarifies that the Department of Human Resource Management has exclusive authority to establish and enforce employer contribution rates for some state employee health plans.
HB 782 – Lopez – Medical assistance; coverage for certain children and pregnant women. (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (H) Tabled in Health, Welfare and Institutions 01/26/12
notes:
Provides that the Board of Medical Assistance Services shall include a provision in the state plan for medical assistance services for medical assistance for otherwise eligible pregnant women during the first five years of lawful residence in the United States. The bill also requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to provide coverage under the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS) Plan for otherwise eligible children and pregnant women during the first five years of lawful residence in the United States.
HB 809 – May – Insurance; employees of political subdivisions of State may receive from a locality. (H) Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns
(S) Committee on Local Government		 (S) Referred to Committee on Local Government 02/02/12
notes:
Adds the employees of political subdivisions of the Commonwealth such as boards, commissions, agencies, or authorities to the list of employees who may receive insurance from a locality. The political subdivision must be working in close cooperation with the locality before the insurance may be provided. Current law limits the provision of such insurance to the members of boards that were created or controlled by the locality.
HB 918 – Minchew – Medicaid; appeals of agency determinations. Regarding overpayments. (H) Committee for Courts of Justice (H) Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2013 02/01/12
notes:
Provides that all recommended or final case decisions in administrative hearings regarding Medicaid overpayments shall be made in accordance with the Administrative Process Act, shall be based on the whole evidentiary record, and shall be limited to a determination of whether the Director’s initial decision was within the scope of his statutory or legal authority. The bill also provides that no recommended or final case decision shall be based on principles of contract law or equity.
HB 920 – Brink – Medicaid Managed Care Ombudsman; established. (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions (H) Tabled in Health, Welfare and Institutions 01/26/12
notes:
Establishes the Office of the Medicaid Managed Care Ombudsman within the Department of Medical Assistance Services to promote and protect the interests of covered persons under managed care programs of the Department. Duties of the Medicaid Managed Care Ombudsman include assisting persons receiving medical assistance under the state plan for medical assistance services furnished by managed care programs in understanding their rights and the processes available to them under their managed care plan, developing information on the types of managed care programs available in Virginia, and monitoring and providing information to the General Assembly on managed care issues.
HB 980 – Scott, J.M. – Health insurance; time limit on submitting claims. (H) Committee on Commerce and Labor (H) Continued to 2013 in Commerce and Labor 02/02/12
notes:
Establishes a minimum period of one year for the filing of a claim with a health insurance carrier. If it is not reasonably possible to submit a claim within this period, the carrier shall not reduce or deny the claim due to the provider’s failure to submit the claim within such period if the claim is filed as soon as reasonably possible.
HB 988 – Loupassi – Medical Fraud Control Unit; Attorney General to appoint investigators. (H) Committee on Appropriations (H) Assigned App. sub: Compensation and Retirement 02/03/12
notes:
Authorizes the Attorney General to appoint unit investigators to investigate fraud, abuse, or neglect in the provision of care under the plan for medical assistance. Such investigators would be considered law-enforcement officers and would be sworn to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth through the investigation of medical fraud and abuse. Such investigators would also be authorized to carry a concealed handgun while in the discharge of their official duties.
HB 1090 – O’Bannon – Medicaid eligibility; determination of assets. (H) Committee on Appropriations (H) Assigned App. sub: Health & Human Resources 02/03/12
notes:
Provides that for the purpose of determining eligibility for medical assistance, the sale or transfer of real property at a price that is less than the assessed value of the property shall be considered an uncompensated transfer of assets equal to the amount of the difference between the assessed value of the property and the amount received from the sale or transfer, except that any sale or transfer of real property at a price that is less than the assessed value of the property shall not be considered an uncompensated transfer of assets if the price at which the property is sold or transferred is equal to or greater than the value of the property as determined by a good-faith appraisal or is a fair market price for the property in an arm’s length transaction.
HB 1174 – Marshall, R.G. – Health insurance; policies without abortion coverage. (H) Committee on Commerce and Labor (H) Assigned C & L sub: #1 01/19/12
notes:
Requires any health insurer that offers, sells, or issues a health insurance policy in the Commonwealth that provides coverage for abortion services to also offer for sale in the Commonwealth a health insurance policy with substantively identical terms and conditions except that it does not provide coverage for abortion services. A health insurance policy that does not provide coverage for abortion services will be required to (i) provide coverage for the costs of services of a physician and other services incurred in providing medical assistance to preserve the life of a pregnant woman provided every possible measure shall be taken to preserve the life of the unborn child of the pregnant woman or (ii) reimburse the costs of services incurred in providing medical treatment to address previous fetal demise or intrauterine fetal death. The measure also provides that the basic health care services provided in a health care plan offered by a health maintenance organization may, but shall not be required to, provide coverage for abortion services.
HB 1273 – Peace – Oral chemotherapy medications; access. (H) Committee on Appropriations (H) Assigned App. sub: Compensation and Retirement 01/31/12
notes:
Prescribed, orally administered medications necessary for the treatment of cancer shall be available on a basis no less favorable than coverage provided for intravenously administered or injected anticancer medications, regardless of formulation or benefit category determination by the insurer, corporation, or health maintenance organization. Prescribed, orally administered anticancer medications are currently available from health insurers, health care subscription plans, and health maintenance organizations whose pharmaceutical benefit category determination provides coverage. This classification will apply to the state employees’ health insurance plan and to the local choice health program.
HJ 119 – Marshall, R.G. – Medicaid; joint subcommittee to study reducing costs by increasing efficiencies and reducing fraud. (H) Committee on Rules (H) Subcommittee recommends laying on the table 02/02/12
notes:
Establishes a joint subcommittee to study reducing Medicaid costs by increasing efficiencies and reducing fraud. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall (i) examine the success of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; (ii) research methods of controlling Medicaid fraud that are used in other states; (iii) investigate additional solutions to controlling fraud in the Commonwealth; (iv) consider new technological advances used in other states to reduce costs within the Medicaid program; and (v) explore other ways of increasing efficiency within the system, including the use of telemedicine.
HJ 171 – Marshall, R.G. – Medicaid; joint subcommittee to study reducing costs using telemedicine. (H) Committee on Rules (H) Subcommittee recommends laying on the table 02/02/12
notes:
Establishes a joint subcommittee to study reducing Medicaid costs by using telemedicine. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall (i) examine the current use of telemedicine in the Commonwealth and in other states; (ii) research methods of reducing Medicaid costs using telemedicine; and (iii) consider other new technological advances used in other states to reduce costs within the Medicaid program.
SB 383 – McEachin – Virginia Health Benefits Exchange Authority; created. (S) Committee on Commerce and Labor (S) Assigned C&L sub: Health Insurance 01/20/12
notes:
Creates the Virginia Health Benefits Exchange Authority as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth. The Authority is charged with establishing and operating health benefit exchanges for qualified individuals and small businesses, collectively referred to as the Exchange. The measure also provides for the Authority to perform, or provide for the performance by other state agencies of, duties associated with the operation of the Exchange as required by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and implements the intent set forth in Chapter 823 of the 2011 Acts of Assembly that Virginia create and operate its own health benefits exchange to preserve and enhance competition in the health insurance market. The Exchange will be funded by assessments on health insurers offering plans in the Exchange. Persons who file information that is known to be false or misleading, or willfully and knowingly violate any provision of the act, are subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000. The measure provides that the same market rules will apply to health plans sold inside and outside the Exchange, and that mandated health benefits applicable to plans offered outside the Exchange will also apply to plans offered through the Exchange. Insurance companies are required to offer the same health plans, for the same price, inside and outside the Exchange. Insurers are prohibited from offering bronze level plans outside the Exchange unless they also offer such plans through the Exchange. The State Corporation Commission is required to ensure that insurance agents and brokers are not provided with financial incentives to direct persons either to the Exchange or outside the Exchange. The measure will expire on the effective date of a final, nonapp
SB 542 – Howell – Health insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorder; deletes certain requirements for analysts. (S) Committee on Commerce and Labor (S) Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor 01/13/12
notes:
Deletes the requirement that board certified behavior analysts be certified by the Board of Medicine. The measure also defines a board-certified behavior analyst as an individual certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, or other nationally recognized organization with certification requirements that are no less stringent, as a board-certified behavior analyst.
SB 568 – Ebbin – Medical assistance; coverage for certain children and pregnant women. (S) Committee on Finance (S) Rereferred to Finance 02/02/12
notes:
Provides that the Board of Medical Assistance Services shall include a provision in the state plan for medical assistance services for medical assistance for otherwise eligible pregnant women during the first five years of lawful residence in the United States. The bill also requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to provide coverage under the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS) Plan for otherwise eligible children and pregnant women during the first five years of lawful residence in the United States.
SB 591 – Puckett – MEWA; increases number of residents employed at bank who may receive accident & sickness benefits. (S) Committee on Commerce and Labor (S) Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor 01/19/12
notes:
Increases, from 50 to 250, the maximum number of Virginia residents employed at a bank that is a member of a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) who may receive accident and sickness benefits under the MEWA without disqualifying the MEWA from its exemption from provisions of the Commonwealth’s insurance laws.
SB 615 – Favola – Health Benefits Exchange Authority; created, report. (S) Committee on Commerce and Labor (S) Assigned C&L sub: Health Insurance 01/24/12
notes:
Creates the Virginia Health Benefits Exchange Authority as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth, as recommended by the Virginia Health Reform Initiative Advisory Council. The Authority is charged with establishing and operating health benefit exchanges for qualified individuals and for small businesses, collectively referred to as the Exchange. The measure also provides for the Authority to perform, or provide for the performance by other state agencies of, duties associated with the operation of the Exchange as required by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and implements the intent set forth in Chapter 823 of the Acts of Assembly of 2011 that Virginia create and operate its own health benefits exchange to preserve and enhance competition in the health insurance market. The Authority is authorized to enter agreements with the State Corporation Commission and Departments of Medical Assistance Services, Health, and Social Services regarding the performance of duties related to the conduct of the Exchange. The Exchange will be funded by assessment fees on all health carriers offering plans in the Exchange. The measure provides that mandated health benefits applicable to plans offered outside the Exchange will also apply to plans offered through the Exchange.
SB 643 – Saslaw – Health information; Department of Health to establish work group to examine needs related to reform. (S) Committee on Education and Health (S) Assigned Education sub: Health Care 01/23/12
notes:
Requires the Department of Health to establish a work group to examine the health information needs related to health care reform and to ensure that any new data collection is integrated with existing practices in an efficient manner.
SB 646 – McEachin – Life insurance benefits; providing additional benefits incidental to a loss in event of death, etc. (S) Committee on Commerce and Labor (S) Read third time and passed Senate (38-Y 0-N) 02/03/12
notes:
Provides that the benefits provided under a policy of life insurance or accident and sickness insurance may include additional benefits, including child care expenses and educational expenses.
SB 650 – McEachin – Hospitals and physicians; processing health insurance claims. (S) Committee on Commerce and Labor (S) Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor 01/20/12
notes:
Requires any hospital or licensed physician who treats a patient who presents proof of health insurance providing coverage within the applicable provider network to process such patient’s claims and provides that a patient is not be liable for any amount in excess of what would be owed if the claim was properly filed in such instances.
SB 659 – Martin – Medicaid; DMAS to develop and implement long-term care system. (S) Committee on Education and Health (S) Assigned Education sub: Health Care 01/23/12
notes:
Directs the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to develop and implement a statewide fully integrated risk-based long-term care system that integrates Medicaid-reimbursed primary, acute, and long-term care services. The long-term care system shall expand access to and utilization of cost-effective home and community-based alternatives to institutional care for Medicaid-eligible individuals. The system shall include a nursing facility transition initiative, along with an expansion of community-based services, and an acuity-based methodology for reimbursement of nursing facility services.
SJ 92 – Stosch – Medicaid; JLARC to study payment policies for hospitals, nursing home, etc., on access to services. (S) Committee on Rules (S) Referred to Committee on Rules 01/11/12
notes:
Study; JLARC to study the effect of Medicaid payment policies for hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians on access to health care services for Virginians; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the effect of Medicaid payment policies for hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians on Virginia Medicaid recipients’ access to health care services.