Changes the name of guidance counselors to school counselors and requires school boards to employ school counselors in accordance with the following ratios: in elementary schools, one hour per day per 91 students, one full-time at 455 students, one hour per day additional time per 91 students or major fraction thereof; in middle schools, one period per 74 students, one full-time at 370 students, one additional period per 74 students or major fraction thereof; and in high schools, one period per 65 students, one full-time at 325 students, one additional period per 65 students or major fraction thereof. Additionally, the bill provides that notwithstanding any act of the 2019 Regular Session of the General Assembly the ratio of school counselors to students shall be as provided for in the appropriation act.
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Makes a driver's failure to move into a nonadjacent lane on a highway with at least four lanes when approaching a stationary vehicle displaying flashing, blinking, or alternating blue, red, or amber lights, or, if changing lanes would be unreasonable or unsafe, to proceed with due caution and maintain a safe speed, reckless driving, which is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Under current law, a first such offense is a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $250, and a second such offense is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Allows individuals receiving auxiliary grants to select supportive housing without any requirement that such individuals wait until their first or any subsequent annual reassessment to make such selection. The bill directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to (i) promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill within 180 days of its enactment and (ii) develop guidance documents for implementation of the provisions of the bill no later than February 1, 2020. The bill establishes that the number of auxiliary grant recipients in the supportive housing setting shall not exceed 90 unless the waiting list for supportive housing consists of 30 individuals or more on October 1, 2020, in which case the maximum number of auxiliary grant recipients in supportive housing shall be increased to 120.
Requires any carrier issuing a health plan in the Commonwealth to count any payments made by another person on the enrollee's behalf, as well as payments made by the enrollee, when calculating the enrollee's overall contribution to any out-of-pocket maximum or any cost-sharing requirement under the carrier's health plan. This bill is identical to
Establishes limits on the ability of a health carrier or third-party administrator to sell or otherwise grant access, as provided in a dentist's or oral surgeon's provider contract, to a third-party carrier. The measure provides that such access may be granted only if it is expressly permitted by the provider contract and notice is given to the affected participating providers. The contracting entity or carrier is required to inform participating providers, upon request, which network plans have been granted access to the contract by the contracting entity.
Requires that any contract between a carrier and its intermediary pursuant to which the intermediary has the right or obligation to conduct audits of participating pharmacy providers and any provider contract between a carrier and a participating pharmacy provider or its contracting agent pursuant to which the carrier has the right or obligation to conduct audits of participating pharmacy providers contain certain terms and provisions relating to audits that will apply in the absence of fraud. The terms and provisions (i) require at least 14 days' written notice before conducting the initial audit for each audit cycle; (ii) prohibit the initiation or scheduling of an onsite audit during the first five calendar days of any month or on a Monday; (iii) prohibit an onsite audit of a particular pharmacy location on behalf of a particular carrier more than once in a 12-month period; (iv) require each pharmacy to be audited under the same standards and parameters as every other similarly situated pharmacy; (v) require any audit issues that involve clinical or professional judgment to be conducted by a pharmacist who has available for consultation a pharmacist licensed by the Commonwealth; (vi) require each audit to be conducted by a field agent who possesses the requisite knowledge and experience in pharmacy practice; (vii) require audits to be conducted in the Commonwealth in compliance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations; (viii) require prescriptions to be considered valid prescriptions if they are compliant with the then-current Board of Pharmacy rules and regulations and have been successfully adjudicated upon a clean claim submission; (ix) require electronic records and documentation to be acceptable for auditing under the same terms, conditions, and validation and for the same purposes as their paper analogs; (x) permit a pharmacy to use the historical records of a hospital, physician, or other authorized practitioner of the healing arts for drugs or medicinal supplies written and transmitted by any documented means of communication for purposes of validating the pharmacy record with respect to orders or refills of a legend or narcotic drug; (xi) require validation and documentation at the time of dispensing of appropriate days' supply and drug dosing to be based on manufacturer guidelines and definitions or, in the case of topical products or titrated products, based on the professional judgment of the pharmacist in communication with the patient or prescriber; (xii) require a pharmacy's usual and customary price for compounded medications to be considered the reimbursable cost unless the pricing methodology is published in the provider contract and signed by both parties or their agents; (xiii) prohibit a carrier or its intermediary from making charge backs or seeking recoupment from a pharmacy, or assessing or collecting penalties from a pharmacy, until the time period for filing an appeal to an initial audit report has passed or until the appeals process has been exhausted, whichever is later; (xiv) establish requirements for a preliminary audit report; (xv) require a pharmacy to be allowed at least 60 calendar days following receipt of the preliminary audit report in which to produce documentation to address any discrepancy found during an audit or to file an appeal; (xvi) establish time periods during which a final audit report containing claim level information for any discrepancy found and total dollar amount of claims subject to recovery is required to be delivered to the pharmacy or its pharmacy corporate office; (xvii) prohibit a carrier or its intermediary from recovering from the pharmacy payment of claims that is identified through the audit process to be the responsibility of another payer; (xviii) prohibit recoupment of amounts paid to a pharmacy for any claim to be made solely on the basis of a prescriber's or patient's lack of response to a request made by a carrier or its intermediary; (xix) require a carrier or its intermediary to issue its initial audit findings in conformity with the laws of the Commonwealth; and (xx) prohibit a carrier or its intermediary from retroactively denying a claim in certain circumstances.
Requires the Department of General Services (DGS), the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA), and the Office of the Attorney General, as appropriate, to review contract solicitations and contracts for any public contract with a state public body for goods, services, insurance, or construction that meets the definition of high-risk contract provided in the bill. The bill directs DGS and VITA to develop guidelines for state agencies to use when assigning staff to administer high-risk contracts and requires that such guidelines (i) provide that any staff designated as a contract administrator must have prior contract administration experience and (ii) direct an agency's chief procurement officer to communicate to such contract administrator, when he first assumes his role, his responsibilities for effectively administering the contract. Some provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date for implementation for certain high-risk contract review processes.
Requires, in any contract for a major information technology project, terms and conditions relating to the indemnification obligations and liability of a supplier to be reasonable and to not exceed in aggregate twice the value of the contract. The bill also provides that there is no limitation on the liability of a supplier for (i) any intentional or willful misconduct, fraud, or recklessness of a supplier or any employee of a supplier or (ii) claims for bodily injury, including death, and damage to real property or tangible personal property resulting from the negligence of a supplier or any employee of a supplier. The bill provides an exception to such conditions where the Secretary of Administration approves a reasonable maximum alternative limitation of liability amount recommended by the Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth based on a risk assessment showing exceptional risk to the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to