Summary: Parental access to minor's medical records;consent by certain minors to treatment of mental or emotional disorder.Adds an exception to the right of parental access to a minor child'shealth records if the furnishing to or review by the requesting parentof such health records would be reasonably likely to deter the minorfrom seeking care. Under the bill, a minor 16 years of age or olderwho is determined by a health care provider to be mature and capableof giving informed consent shall be deemed an adult for the purposeof giving consent to treatment of a mental or emotional disorder.The bill provides that the capacity of a minor to consent to treatmentof a mental or emotional disorder does not include the capacity to refuse treatment for a mental or emotional disorder for which aparent, guardian, or custodian of the minor has given consent andthat a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a minor shall be notifiedby a health care provider of the minor's drug abuse, substance abuse,or potential of self-harm.

Summary: Central State Hospital; psychiatric bed allocation. Directs Central State Hospital to designate additional beds as forensicand psychiatric beds.

Summary: Office of the State Inspector General; investigations of abuse or neglect at state psychiatric hospitals; report. Directs the Office of the State Inspector General to (i) develop a plan to fulfill its statutory obligation to fully investigate all complaints it receives alleging abuse, neglect, or inadequate care at a state psychiatric hospital and (ii) submit such plan to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2024. The bill also requires the Office to submit an annual report to the General Assembly on or before November 1 of each year regarding the number of such complaints received and the number of complaints that were fully investigated by the Office.

Summary: Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; facilities licensed to provide inpatient substance use disorder treatment; valid discharge plans. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to amend its regulations to require that any facility licensed by the Department to provide inpatient substance use disorder treatment be required to prepare and record a valid discharge plan upon the discharge or withdrawal of any individual from the facility who has received substance use disorder treatment while admitted to such facility. The bill requires such discharge plan to include the provision of funds withheld from the individual's prior payments to the facility to assist the individual in the execution of such discharge plan. The bill requires the regulations to provide that failure by a facility to prepare and record valid discharge plans may result in civil penalties, license suspension, or license revocation.

Summary: Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; discharge pilot program; report. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to develop and implement a pilot program relating to the discharge of individuals at one state hospital. The bill requires the Department to submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the House Committee on Health and Human Services, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Behavioral Health Commission no later than November 1, 2025.

Summary: Temporary detention; certified evaluators; report.Authorizes hospitals with a psychiatric emergency department to employ certain trained individuals to perform evaluations to determinewhether a person meets the criteria for temporary detention for behavioralhealth treatment. The bill defines psychiatric emergency departmentas an emergency department of a hospital licensed by the Department of Health that is physically attached to a hospital with adult andadolescent inpatient psychiatric beds and adult detoxification bedslicensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices. The bill requires participating hospitals with psychiatricemergency departments to annually report the number of temporary detentionorder evaluations completed, the number of temporary detention orderspetitioned, the number of individuals evaluated for temporary detention who were determined to not meet the criteria for temporary detention,and the number of individuals under a temporary detention order admittedto a state facility to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Educationand Health, the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions,and the Behavioral Health Commission. The bill has an expirationdate of July 1, 2026.

Summary: State psychiatric hospitals; temporary detentionorders; delayed admission to determine medical needs. Allowsstate psychiatric hospitals to delay admission of an individual undera temporary detention order until the state psychiatric hospitalhas determined that the individual does not have potentially life-threateningmedical needs that require immediate evaluation and treatment thatthe state psychiatric hospital is incapable of providing. This billis a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionand the Behavioral Health Commission.

Summary: Auricular acupuncture; use of the five needle protocol. Allows any person to engage in the five needle auricular acupuncture protocol (5NP), a standardized protocol wherein up to five needles are inserted into the external human ear to provide relief from the effects of behavioral health conditions, provided that such person (i) has appropriate training in the 5NP, including training established by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association or equivalent certifying body; (ii) does not use any letters, words, or insignia indicating or implying that he is an acupuncturist; and (iii) makes no statement implying that his practice of the 5NP is licensed, certified, or otherwise overseen by the Commonwealth. Treatment utilizing the 5NP pursuant to this bill is strictly limited to the insertion of disposable, sterile acupuncture needles into the ear and only in compliance with the 5NP.

Summary: Virginia Center on Aging; Virginia Memory Project established. Establishes the Virginia Memory Project in the Virginia Center on Aging at Virginia Commonwealth University to collect and analyze data on Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and other neurodegenerative disorders; provide assistance to individuals with Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and other neurodegenerative disorders and their families and physicians; and assist in the development of relevant public policy. The bill provides that no publication of information shall be made that identifies any patient by name. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Summary: Board of Counseling; licensure of professional counselors without examination. Directs the Board of Counseling to recognize the National Counselor Examination as a valid examination for licensure as a professional counselor in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services;credentialed addiction treatment professionals; licensed behavioranalysts; definition. Directs the Department of Medical AssistanceServices to amend in its regulations the definition of "credentialedaddiction treatment professional" to include licensed behavior analysts.

Summary: Board of Social Work; licensure of clinicalsocial workers; examination alternative; regulation amendments.Directs the Board of Social Work to amend the regulations for thelicensure of clinical social workers to allow applicants to utilizean examination alternative, which shall consist of at least 1,500hours of supervised experience that is obtained within the five calendaryears immediately preceding the date of application. The bill clarifiesthat the examination alternative shall be in addition to any othersupervised clinical experience required for licensure.

Summary: Veterinary medicine; traineeships. Allowsany veterinary medicine licensure applicant enrolled in a traineeshipprogram to engage in the limited practice of veterinary medicine,as that term is defined by the Board of Veterinary Medicine, underthe direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian. The bill directsthe Board to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisionsof the bill.

Summary: Board of Medicine; temporary licensure of physicians licensed in a foreign country. Permits the Board of Medicine to issue a provisional license to a physician licensed in a foreign country for no more than two years, then a subsequent renewable two-year license if the physician practices in a medically underserved area. After two years of practice under the renewable license in a medically underserved area, a physician licensed in a foreign country is eligible to apply for a full, unrestricted license to practice medicine. The bill specifies that eligibility for such licenses is conditional upon an applicant demonstrating certain educational and experiential qualifications to the Board and obtaining employment with a medical care facility that provides an assessment and evaluation program for physicians licensed in a foreign country.

Summary: Board of Health; Department of Health Professions; Prescription Monitoring Program; overdose information. Directs the Board of Health to report Admit, Transfer, and Discharge data elements on patients who overdose on opioids to the Department of Health Professions for use in the Prescription Monitoring Program. The bill requires practitioners to obtain such data when prescribing opioids.

Summary: Practice of athletic training; definition. Amendsthe definition of "practice of athletic training" to allow the practice of athletic training to be conducted in an inpatient or outpatientsetting.

Summary: Requisite training and education achievements of physician assistants. Permits the Board of Medicine to grant provisional licensure as a physician assistant to applicants pending the results of an examination, as defined in the bill. Such provisional license is valid for six months or until an applicant obtains full licensure, whichever is shorter. The bill directs the Board to revoke the provisional licensure of an applicant who fails an examination but provides that an applicant may reapply for provisional licensure if such applicant has failed no more than one examination. Under current law, the Board may grant provisional licensure pending the outcome of an examination at its discretion.

Summary: State plan for medical assistance services;fertility preservation treatments; genetic material misuse; penalty. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the stateplan for medical assistance services to include a provision for paymentof medical assistance for coverage of fertility preservation for individuals diagnosed with cancer who need treatment for that cancerthat may cause a substantial risk of sterility or iatrogenic infertility,as defined in the bill, including surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.The bill also establishes that it is a Class 3 felony for a healthcare provider to provide assisted conception treatment to a patientand use the health care provider's own gamete without the writtenconsent of the patient.

Summary: Kinship foster care; barrier crimes. Allows local boards of social services or child-placing agencies to approve kinship foster care parent applicants who have been convicted of certain felony drug offenses if five years have elapsed since the date of the conviction, where under current law 10 years must have elapsed in order to be eligible for approval as a kinship foster care parent. The bill also adds exceptions for certain misdemeanor assault and battery convictions not involving a minor if five years have elapsed since the date of the conviction. The bill directs the State Board of Social Services to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill to be effective no later than September 1, 2024.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Medicaid Waivers; program rule modifications. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to modify the program rules for certain Medicaid waivers to eliminate the requirement that certain visits for individuals enrolled in Family and Individual Support Waivers, Community Living Waivers, Building Independence Waivers, and CCC Plus Waivers be conducted face-to-face.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; slot-retention requests; Developmental Disability waivers; sunset. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to amend their regulations to allow for support coordinators to request and subsequently obtain approval of consecutive waiver slot-retention requests for a period of up to 365 calendar days for individuals who have been assigned a Developmental Disability waiver slot. Current regulations allow for four consecutive 30-day slot-retention extensions. The bill sunsets on June 30, 2026, and is identical to SB 610.

Summary: State plan for medical assistance services;certified community health workers; work group. Directs the Departmentof Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medicalassistance services to include a provision for payment for services provided by certified community health workers. The bill directsthe Department to convene a work group of stakeholders to designthe certified community health worker services benefit and to seekfederal approval through a state plan amendment to implement thebenefit.

Summary: Medical assistance services; payment for essentialhygiene products. Directs the State Board of Health to includea provision for payment of medical assistance for the purchase of essential hygiene products in the state plan for medical assistanceservices.

Summary: State Department of Social Services; Home Energy Assistance Program. Authorizes the State Department of Social Services to allow applications for the Home Energy Assistance Program to be submitted over an application period that provides adequate time for individuals to apply and is extended beyond the current application period subject to the availability of adequate funding.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistances Services; financial eligibility standards for certain waivers providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to amend the financial eligibility standards for individuals receiving services under the Family and Individual Support Waiver, Community Living Waiver, and Building Independence Waiver (the DD Waivers). The bill requires the Department, when determining financial eligibility for the DD Waivers, to disregard any Social Security Disability Insurance income above the maximum monthly Supplemental Security Income as determined by the U.S. Social Security Administration; however, such Social Security Disability Insurance income shall not be disregarded for purposes of determining an individual's patient pay obligation. The bill also requires the Department to (i) analyze the implications of such amendments to the financial eligibility standards for individuals under the DD waivers, which shall include a determination of the costs and the number of individuals who would benefit from such amendments and (ii) report its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations and the House Committees on Health and Human Services and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2024. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 676.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Medicaid Waivers; state plan amendments; program rule modifications. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to seek federal authority through the necessary state plan amendments under Titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to modify the program rules for certain 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Medicaid Waivers to (i) modify the 40-hour-per-week work limit to allow legally responsible individuals with more than one waiver-receiving child to receive reimbursement for 40 hours of work per week per child receiving a waiver; (ii) eliminate the requirement that, in order for a legally responsible individual to receive reimbursement for personal care services, no one else be available to provide services to the member; and (iii) modify the program rules to allow a legally responsible individual or stepparent to be the employer of record. The bill directs DMAS to evaluate the possibility of allowing for respite services under certain 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Medicaid Waivers and submit its recommendations, cost estimate, and methodology used for obtaining the cost estimate to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2024. This bill is identical to SB 488.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services; Departmentof Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; waiver usage flexibilityfor local community services boards. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) and the Department of BehavioralHealth and Developmental Services to amend their regulations to allowlocal community services boards the discretion to convert allocatedCommunity Living waivers to Family and Individual Support waiversand Building Independence waivers if the Community Living waiversare not being utilized and will not be utilized in the foreseeablefuture. The bill requires DMAS to seek any necessary federal approvalsto effectuate this modification through the submission of a stateplan for medical assistance services amendment to the Centers forMedicare and Medicaid Services.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services Medicaid Waivers; state plan amendments; program rule modifications. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to seek to modify the program rules for certain 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services Medicaid Waivers to eliminate the requirement that in order for a legally responsible individual to receive reimbursement for personal care services, no one else be available to provide such services to the Medicaid member. This bill was incorporated into HB 1318.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services; Departmentof Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; 1915(c) Home andCommunity-Based Services Medicaid Waivers; state plan amendments;program rule modifications. Directs the Department of MedicalAssistance Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices to seek to modify the program rules for certain 1915(c) Homeand Community-Based Services Medicaid Waivers to eliminate the requirementthat in order for a legally responsible individual to receive reimbursementfor personal care services, no one else be available to provide suchservices to the Medicaid member. This bill incorporates HB 1282.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services; publicationof information related to home care services. Directs the Departmentof Medical Assistance Services to annually publish on its website the average hourly payment rates for home care services for eachtype of service provided. The bill also requires the Department topublish the total number of Medicaid-paid home care claims and thenumber of Medicaid enrollees who received home care services in theprior year.

Summary: Naloxone or other opioid antagonists; possession and administration by state agencies. Requires state agencies to possess naloxone or other opioid antagonists used for overdose reversal to a person who is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a life-threatening opioid overdose and permits employees of any state agency to possess and administer naloxone or other opioid antagonists. The bill also directs the Department of Health to post on its website informational resources relating to the use of naloxone and other opioid antagonists for opioid overdose reversal and prevention in public places. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Health to develop a plan for the procurement and distribution of naloxone or other opioid antagonists to each state agency and for the possession of naloxone or other opioid antagonists by each state agency and to report its progress in developing such plan to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2024.

Summary: Certificate of public need; hospitals licensedby the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services;psychiatric beds. Excludes from the list of medical care facilitiesfor which a certificate of public need is required hospitals licensedas a provider by the Department of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices. The bill excludes the following from the list of projectsfor which a certificate of public need is required for certain medicalcare facilities: (i) an increase or relocation of psychiatric beds licensed by the Department, (ii) the introduction of any psychiatricservice when such medical care facility has not provided such servicein the previous 12 months, and (iii) the conversion of beds to psychiatricbeds. The bill also modifies the list of projects for which a certificateof public need is required for certain medical care facilities byrequiring a certificate for the conversion of any psychiatric inpatientbeds to nonpsychiatric inpatient beds. Under current law, a certificateis required for the conversion of a psychiatric bed to a nonpsychiatricbed only when the psychiatric bed was approved pursuant to a Requestfor Applications (RFA).

Summary: Funeral arrangements; disputes between next of kin; proof of next of kin status. Establishes a dispute resolution process for disagreements about what persons are responsible for a decedent's funeral and the disposition for such decedent's remains. The bill permits funeral service licensees to require a person claiming next of kin status to execute a document affirming that such person is the next of kin.

Summary: Transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment; pilot program. Directs the Department of Veterans Services to establish a pilot program to make electroencephalogram (EEG) combined transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment available for military members, veterans, first responders, law-enforcement officers, and certain agents of federal agencies and family members of the aforementioned individuals. The bill requires the Department to establish regulations for administration of the pilot program.

Summary: Board of Health; hospital regulations; use of smoke evacuation systems during surgical procedures. Requires the Board of Health to amend its regulations to require that every hospital where surgical procedures are performed adopt a policy requiring the use of a smoke evacuation system for all planned surgical procedures. The bill defines "smoke evacuation system" as smoke evacuation equipment and technologies designed to capture, filter, and remove surgical smoke at the site of origin and to prevent surgical smoke from making ocular contact or contact with a person's respiratory tract. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025, and is identical to SB 537.

Summary: Health care; decision-making; end of life; penalties. Allows an adult diagnosed with a terminal condition to request and an attending health care provider to prescribe a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill requires that a patient's request for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life must be given orally on two occasions and in writing, signed by the patient and one witness, and that the patient be given an express opportunity to rescind his request at any time. The bill makes it a Class 2 felony (i) to willfully and deliberately alter, forge, conceal, or destroy a patient's request, or rescission of request, for a self-administered controlled substance to end his life with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; (ii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to request a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending his life or to destroy the patient's rescission of such request with the intent and effect of causing the patient's death; or (iii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient to forgo a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill also grants immunity from civil or criminal liability and professional disciplinary action to any person who complies with the provisions of the bill and allows health care providers to refuse to participate in the provision of a self-administered controlled substance to a patient for the purpose of ending the patient's life.

Summary: Certified nursing facilities; administrative sanctions; facilities subject to minimum standards. Amends the administrative sanctions that may be imposed on certified nursing facilities in relation to compliance with staffing requirements. The bill directs the State Health Commissioner, in determining whether or not to impose sanctions, to make the determination of whether a certified nursing facility was located in a medically underserved area that severely limited the ability of the certified nursing facility to recruit and retain direct care staff. The bill requires nursing facilities subject to a corrective action plan to demonstrate compliance with the corrective action plan on a quarterly basis. Under the bill, in determining whether a corrective action plan is needed, the Commissioner shall consider certain evidence of direct care staff hours, unless the facility has had a change in ownership. The bill changes from three to two the number of corrective action plans after which, if a a certified nursing facility fails to show compliance or improvement, the Commissioner may place the facility on probation. The bill also includes all nursing homes eligible to receive Medicaid reimbursement for residents in the list of facilities subject to minimum standards for (i) construction and maintenance; (ii) operation, staffing, and equipping; and (iii) the qualifications and training of staff. The bill changes the effective date of certain provisions passed in the 2023 Session of the General Assembly relating to staffing requirements for certified nursing facilities from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2024.

Summary: Department of Health; local government; alternative and conventional onsite sewage systems. Requires localities to review the Department of Health's database prior to notifying the owners of an alternative or conventional onsite sewage system about their maintenance responsibility.

Summary: Unaccompanied homeless youth; consent to surgicalor medical care. Provides that except for the purposes of sexualsterilization or abortion, a minor who is 14 years of age or olderand who is an unaccompanied homeless youth shall be deemed an adult for the purpose of consenting to surgical or medical examinationor treatment, including dental examination and treatment, for himselfor his minor child. The bill describes evidence sufficient to determinethat a minor is an unaccompanied homeless youth and provides thatno health care provider shall be liable for any civil or criminalaction for providing surgical or medical treatment to an unaccompaniedhomeless youth or his minor child without first obtaining the consentof his parent or guardian provided in accordance with the law, withthe exception of liability for negligence in the diagnosis or treatmentof such unaccompanied homeless youth.

Summary: Office of the Children's Ombudsman; powers.Grants the Children's Ombudsman with regard to children receivingchild-protective services, in foster care, or placed for adoptionand children who may have died as a result of alleged abuse or neglectthe power to directly oversee local departments of social services,reverse the decisions of local departments of social services, andpetition a court to reverse any custody or visitation changes madeas a result of the error of a local department of social services.