Summary: Optometrists; laser surgery. Allows an optometrist who has received a certification to perform laser surgery from the Board of Optometry (the Board) to perform certain types of laser surgery of the eye and directs the Board to issue a certification to perform laser surgery to any optometrist who submits evidence satisfactory to the Board that he (i) is certified by the Board to prescribe for and treat diseases or abnormal conditions of the human eye and its adnexa with therapeutic pharmaceutical agents pursuant to Code requirements and (ii) has satisfactorily completed such didactic and clinical training programs provided by an accredited school or college of optometry that includes training in the use of lasers for the medically appropriate and recognized treatment of the human eye as the Board may require. The bill also requires the Board to adopt regulations (a) establishing criteria for certification of an optometrist to perform permitted laser surgeries and (b) requiring optometrists to register annually with the Board and to report information regarding any disciplinary action, malpractice judgment, or malpractice settlement against the provider and any evidence that indicates the provider may be unable to engage safely in the practice of his profession. The bill also requires optometrists certified to perform laser surgery to report certain information regarding the number and types of laser surgeries performed and the conditions treated, as well as any adverse treatment outcomes associated with the performance of such laser surgeries to the Board, and requires the Board to report such information to the Governor and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources annually. This bill is identical to SB 375.

Summary: Secretary of Health and Human Resources; study of oversight and regulation of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other congregate living settings under a single state agency; report. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to study the current oversight and regulation of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other congregate living settings to improve efficiency and effectiveness of regulation and oversight, provide better transparency for members of the public navigating the process of receiving services from such facilities, and better protect the health and safety of the public and to report his findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations and the House Committees on Appropriations and Health, Welfare and Institutions by October 1, 2022.

Summary: Department of Medical Assistance Services; durable medical equipment and complex rehabilitative technology; work group; report. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to convene a work group with the Department of Planning and Budget and other relevant stakeholders to study the overall cost of and options for the provision of medical assistance to cover and reimburse complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) manual and power wheelchair bases and related accessories for qualified individuals who reside in nursing facilities. The bill requires the work group to report its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Health and the House Committees on Appropriations and Health, Welfare and Institutions by September 15, 2022.

Summary: Clinical nurse specialist; practice agreements.Provides that a nurse practitioner licensed by the Boards of Medicineand Nursing in the category of clinical nurse specialist who doesnot prescribe controlled substances or devices may practice in thepractice category in which he is certified and licensed without awritten or electronic practice agreement, provided that he (i) onlypractice within the scope of his clinical and professional trainingand limits of his knowledge and experience and consistent with theapplicable standards of care, (ii) consult and collaborate with otherhealth care providers based on the clinical condition of the patientto whom health care is provided, and (iii) establish a plan for referralof complex medical cases and emergencies to physicians or other appropriatehealth care providers. The bill also provides that a nurse practitionerlicensed by the Boards in the category of clinical nurse specialistwho prescribes controlled substances or devices shall practice inconsultation with a licensed physician in accordance with a practiceagreement between the nurse practitioner and the licensed physician.

Summary: Nurse practitioners; declaration of death and cause of death. Authorizes autonomous nurse practitioners, defined in the bill, to declare death and determine cause of death; allows nurse practitioners who are not autonomous nurse practitioners to pronounce the death of a patient in certain circumstances; and eliminates the requirement for a valid Do Not Resuscitate Order for the deceased patient for declaration of death by a registered nurse, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who is not an autonomous nurse practitioner.

Summary: Foster care; housing support for persons between ages 18 and 21. Directs local departments of social services (local department) to provide housing support to any person who (i) is 18 years of age or older but less than 21 years of age, (ii) was in foster care under the custody of a local department  on or after July 1, 2022, (iii) was in foster care under the custody of a local department (a) upon turning 18 years of age or (b) immediately prior to commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice and is transitioning from such commitment to self-sufficiency, and (iv) declines to participate in the Fostering Futures program. The bill requires that such housing support shall be equal to the room and board portion of the maintenance payment that such person would otherwise receive for housing support through participation in the Fostering Futures program.

Summary: Safe haven protections; hotline to provide information about infant relinquishment laws and options. Directs the Department of Social Services to establish a toll-free, 24-hour hotline to make information about the Commonwealth's safe haven laws that provide for relinquishment of an infant, infant relinquishment locations, and support and resources available for parents available to the public and to make information about the hotline, including the toll-free number that may be used to contact the hotline, available on its website. The bill also directs the Department to undertake a campaign to increase public awareness of the Commonwealth's laws providing for relinquishment of an infant and the hotline established pursuant to the bill.

Summary: Department of Health; home care organizations; license renewal. Changes the license renewal requirement for home care organizations from an annual renewal to a triennial renewal. The bill prohibits the Department of Health, upon renewal of a home care organization license, from requiring home care organizations to submit financial documents other than those required for initial licensure.

Summary: Health workforce development; Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development; Virginia Health Workforce Development Fund. Creates the position of Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development (the Special Advisor) in the Office of the Governor and creates the Virginia Health Workforce Development Fund to (i) provide incentives for the removal of barriers to educating and training health workforce professionals that include increasing eligible faculty, clinical placements, and residencies; (ii) incentivize the production of health workforce credentials, degrees, and licensures based on a rigorous analysis of the need by the Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment; (iii) address regulatory barriers to entering into and staying in health professions; and (iv) provide education and training for health and health science professionals to align education and training initiatives with existing and evolving health workforce needs. The bill also requires the Special Advisor to review and evaluate the structure and organization of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (the Authority) and make recommendations regarding the long-term administrative structure and funding of the Authority to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2022. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2026.

Summary: Rehabilitation hospitals; arrangements for follow-up care. Directs the Board of Health to convene a work group to provide recommendations regarding regulations requiring hospitals to develop protocols for connecting patients receiving rehabilitation services to necessary follow-up care. The bill requires the work group to report its recommendations to the Board of Health by October 1, 2022.

Summary: Health insurance; carrier disclosure of certain information. Requires each health insurance carrier, beginning July 1, 2025, to establish and maintain an online process that (i) links directly to e-prescribing systems and electronic health record systems that utilize the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT standard; (ii) can accept electronic prior authorization requests from a provider; (iii) can approve electronic prior authorization requests for which no additional information is needed by the carrier to process the prior authorization request, no clinical review is required, and that meet the carrier's criteria for approval; and (iv) otherwise meets the requirements of the relevant Code of Virginia section. The bill prohibits a carrier from (a) imposing a charge or fee on a participating health care provider for accessing the required online process required or (b) accessing, absent provider consent, provider data via the online process other than for the enrollee. The bill requires participating health care providers, beginning July 1, 2025, to ensure that any e-prescribing system or electronic health record system owned by or contracted for the provider to maintain an enrollee's health record has the ability to access the electronic prior authorization process established by a carrier and real-time cost information data for a covered prescription drug made available by a carrier. The bill provides that a provider may request a waiver of compliance for undue hardship for a period not to exceed 12 months. The bill requires any carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager to provide real-time cost information data to enrollees and contracted providers for a covered prescription drug, including any cost-sharing requirement or prior authorization requirements, and to ensure that the data is accurate. The bill requires that such cost information data is available to the provider in a format that a provider can access and understand such as through the provider's e-prescribing system or electronic health record system for which the carrier or pharmacy benefits manager or its designated subcontractor has adopted that utilizes the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT standard from which the provider makes the request.The bill requires the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance (the Bureau) to, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, establish a work group to evaluate and make recommendations to modify the process for prior authorization for drug benefits in order to maximize efficiency and minimize delays that include a single standardized process and any recommendations for necessary statutory or regulatory changes. The bill requires the work group to include relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the Virginia Association of Health Plans, the Medical Society of Virginia, the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, the Virginia Pharmacists Association, and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, and other parties with an interest in the underlying technology. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor and the House Committee on Commerce and Energy by November 1, 2022. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for the Bureau to establish the work group will not become effective unless reenacted by the 2023 Session of the General Assembly. This bill is identical to SB 428.

Summary: Health care providers; transfer of patient recordsin conjunction with closure, sale, or relocation of practice; electronicnotice permitted. Allows health care providers to notify patientseither electronically or by mail prior to the transfer of patientrecords in conjunction with the closure, sale, or relocation of thehealth care provider's practice. Current law requires health careproviders to provide such notice by mail.

Summary: Board of Nursing; education programs; oversight. Gives the Board of Nursing the power and duty to prescribe minimum standards and approve curricula for educational programs preparing persons for registration as a medication aide and to provide periodic surveys of training programs.

Summary: Commissioner of Health; administration and dispensing of necessary drugs, devices, and vaccines during public health emergency; emergency. Allows the Commissioner of Health to authorize persons who are not authorized by law to administer or dispense drugs or devices to do so in accordance with protocols established by the Commissioner when the Board of Health has made an emergency order for the purpose of suppressing nuisances dangerous to the public health and communicable, contagious, and infectious diseases and other dangers to the public life and health for the limited purpose of administering vaccines as an approved countermeasure for such communicable, contagious, and infectious diseases. Current law limits the Commissioner's ability to make such authorizations to circumstances when the Governor has declared a disaster or a state of emergency or the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services has issued a declaration of an actual or potential bioterrorism incident or other actual or potential public health emergency. The bill contains an emergency clause. This bill is identical to SB 647.

Summary: Nurse practitioners; practice without a practiceagreement; repeal sunset. Repeals the sunset provision on thebill passed in 2021 that reduces from five to two the number of yearsof full-time clinical experience a nurse practitioner must have tobe eligible to practice without a written or electronic practiceagreement.

Summary: Pioneer Community Hospital of Patrick County. Authorizes the reestablishment of a general hospital in Patrick County.

Summary: Virginia Transplant Council; membership.Adds Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters to the membershipof the Virginia Transplant Council.