Health and Human Resources

HB 4474 extends the expiration date of West Virginia's Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia Advisory Council, which was scheduled to sunset. The bill prevents the council from automatically dissolving by renewing its operational period. The council, composed of 15 voting members (including people with dementia, caregivers, healthcare providers, and researchers) and 5 nonvoting government representatives, examines dementia care needs, reviews state services, and assesses healthcare capacity. It does not create new policies but ensures the council can continue its work on dementia-related issues. This procedural bill affects only the council's continued operation, not direct service recipients.

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.

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 modifies oversight requirements for West Virginia's Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability, requiring state health and human services departments to create annual performance plans and submit regular progress reports. The legislation mandates that these departments establish measurable performance goals for their programs and track results against state and national benchmarks, with reports due annually to the commission starting in 2027. Departments must explain any unmet goals and include evaluation findings in their reports, while the commission will submit an annual legislative report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance summarizing major activities and recommendations. The changes apply specifically to the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Department of Health Facilities, and the Office of the Inspector General.

West Virginia's SB 44 allows home producers to sell certain nonpotentially hazardous food items (like baked goods, jams, and nonalcoholic beverages) directly to consumers without state food licensing, permitting, or labeling requirements. It exempts these items from standard food regulations if sold directly by the producer or their agent, but requires sellers to provide written notices about the food's origin and production location. The bill excludes dairy, meat, poultry, and potentially hazardous foods (like acidified foods) from this exemption, requiring vendors selling those items at farmers markets to obtain permits and follow department labeling rules. Health departments retain authority to investigate foodborne illness linked to these sales.