Healthcare

Fees for vehicles designed and used for transportation of passengers; funds returned to a locality; permitted uses. Expands the permitted use of funds returned to a locality from certain vehicle fees to include the purchase or maintenance of necessary equipment, supplies, facilities, and vehicles permitted by the Office of Emergency Medical Services and other operating expenses deemed necessary by the locality to ensure the provision of emergency medical services in such locality by nonprofit emergency medical services agencies. Under current law, such funds may be used for the purchase of necessary equipment and supplies for use in the locality for emergency medical services provided by nonprofit emergency medical services agencies.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; community health workers in Medicaid managed care; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to evaluate and develop recommendations for a statewide strategy to integrate community health workers into Medicaid managed care and related health and human services programs. The bill instructs DMAS to consult with the Department of Health, the Department of Social Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, the Virginia Community Health Worker Association, Medicaid managed care organizations, local departments of social services, community-based providers, and other relevant stakeholders. The bill requires DMAS to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Joint Commission on Health Care and the Chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by December 1, 2026.

Agricultural Workforce Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Program established; report. Requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the Department) to establish and administer the Agricultural Workforce Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Program (the Program) to support the mental health and well-being of the agricultural workforce, as defined in the bill, in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Program to (i) increase public awareness of mental health and suicide prevention, (ii) provide access to culturally and contextually appropriate mental health services, and (iii) address mental health challenges arising from certain stressors affecting agricultural communities in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Department to submit a report on the Program's progress, including data collected and any recommendations, to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by September 1, 2027, and biennially thereafter.

Supervised billing; Medicaid and health insurance plans. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to permit a qualified licensed provider to bill for clinical services provided by a qualified non-licensed provider under the supervision of the qualified licensed provider and requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for mental health services or substance use services provided by a qualified non-licensed provider under the supervision of a qualified licensed provider when such services would be covered if provided by a qualified licensed provider. Additionally, the bill reduces the time limit for a retroactive denial by a health insurance carrier from 12 months to 180 days.

Workers' compensation; presumption for certain cancers; sheriffs and deputy sheriffs. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include sheriffs or deputy sheriffs.

State pharmacy benefits manager; contractual provisions; report. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services' contract with the state pharmacy benefits manager to (i) require that that ingredient-cost reimbursement is based on the national average drug acquisition cost, or if unavailable, the wholesale acquisition cost minus a discount set by the Department, plus a professional dispensing fee, determined by the Department; (ii) require real-time or near real-time transparency in drug costs, rebates collected and paid, dispensing fees paid, administrative fees, and all other charges, fees, costs, and holdbacks, claim denials appeals, and network participation; (iii) prohibit the state pharmacy benefits manager from steering Medicaid recipients to affiliated pharmacies through differential cost-sharing, restrictive network design, or the mandatory use of a mail order pharmacy provider; (iv) require the state pharmacy benefits manager to (a) meet network adequacy standards established by the Department; (b) allow any willing pharmacy to participate in the pharmacy network; (c) verify that all contracted pharmacies are actively accepting Medicaid recipients; (d) submit annual reports containing certain information; (e) disclose to the Department pricing and maximum acquisition cost methodologies; and (f) allow invoice-based or national average drug acquisition cost-based appeals and require an adjustment of rates network-wide when an appeal is upheld; and (v) include enforcement mechanisms and monetary penalties for noncompliance. Additionally, the bill requires Department to annually calculate the savings generated by the use of the state pharmacy benefits manager and to annually increase its dispensing fee by the amount of such savings. The bill requires the Department to annually (1) publish and make available on its website its annual and total savings achieved, the annual and total amount applied to dispensing fees increases, and the updated dispensing fees and (2) report to the General Assembly on the state pharmacy benefits manager's compliance, national average drug acquisition cost compliance, pharmacy reimbursement trends, network adequacy compliance, and dispensing fee sufficiency.

Boards of Medicine and Nursing; advanced practice registered nurses; feasibility of temporary or provisional licensure; report. Directs the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to assess the feasibility of implementing a temporary or provisional licensure pathway for advanced practice registered nurses.

Department of Health; suicide prevention; at-risk populations; work group; report. Directs the Department of Health to convene a work group to develop a statewide strategic plan to reduce suicides among at-risk populations in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the work group to submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the Joint Commission on Health Care, the Chair of the House Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2026.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, election to approve or reject an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia relating to the right to make one's own decisions related to reproductive health care, including access to abortion. The amendment protects patients and their doctors and nurses from being punished for making such decisions. The amendment allows the state to place restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's life or physical or mental health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive. This bill is identical to HB 781.

Health insurance; pharmacies; freedom of choice; delivery of prescription drugs; penalties. Prohibits an insurer, health maintenance organization, corporation providing preferred provider subscription contracts, or pharmacy benefits manager from imposing upon any person receiving pharmaceutical benefits any policy or practice requiring or incentivizing certain provisions relating to the delivery of prescription drugs. A violation of the bill's provisions constitutes an unfair trade practice under existing law and is subject to injunctive, penalty, and enforcement provisions in existing law.