Summary: Background checks; peer recovery specialists;barrier crime exceptions. Permits the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, direct care service providers,and community boards to hire peer recovery specialists who have beenconvicted of certain barrier crimes where a history of such offensedoes not pose a risk in the work of a peer recovery specialist.

Summary: Substance abuse counselors; barrier crimes;exception. Allows persons with convictions for possession ofa controlled substance to work at adult substance abuse or adultmental health treatment programs.

Summary: Background checks; services for children anddevelopmental services; adult substance abuse and mental health services.Separates background check requirements for direct care positionswith service providers and community boards. The bill separates provisionsregarding background checks of employees in direct care positionsproviding adult substance abuse and mental health services from thoseof background checks of employees in direct care positions providingservices for children and developmental services.

Summary: Department of Health Professions and Boardsof Medicine and Nursing; continued competency; human traffickingtraining required. Requires all practitioners regulated by theDepartment of Health Professions, practitioners licensed by the Boardof Medicine, and practitioners licensed by the Board of Nursing to complete training on topics related to human trafficking, includingstrategies for identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking.The bill requires training standards to be approved by the Directorof the Department of Health Professions; a list of approved training courses shall be posted on the Department of Health Professionswebsite and shall include at least one course that is available withoutcharge. The successful completion of this training shall be a conditionof renewals of registration, certification, licensure, permit, andthe issuance of a multistate licensure privilege.

Summary: Prescription for controlled substance; practitioner-patient relationship. Allows a practitioner to establish a bona fidepractitioner-patient relationship for the purpose of prescribing aSchedule VI controlled substance if the patient chooses not to seekreimbursement by a health plan or carrier for the prescribing andif such prescribing complies with federal requirements for the practiceof telemedicine.

Summary: Transcranial magnetic stimulation; pilot program.Requires the Department of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices to establish a pilot program to make electroencephalogramcombined transcranial magnetic stimulation available for veterans,first responders, and law-enforcement officers. The bill requiresthe State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services toestablish regulations for the pilot program.

Summary: Pregnant inmates; coverage through state planfor medical assistance. Provides that if a person confined ina state correctional facility is pregnant, gives birth during suchconfinement, is enrolled in the state plan for medical assistance,and would otherwise be eligible for coverage under the state planfor medical assistance for a 24-hour inpatient stay at a medical institution but for the fact that such person's stay was less than24 hours, the cost of such person's birth shall be covered by statefunds. The bill directs the Department of Medical Assistance Servicesto, in coordination with the Department of Corrections, identifypersons confined in state correctional facilities who are enrolledin or may be eligible for services under the state plan for medicalassistance and provide information to such persons regarding anysteps necessary to obtain coverage for child birth prior to the person's release on medical furlough for the purpose of giving birth.

Summary: Pharmacies; reporting of processing delays impacting patient safety; centralized or remote processing of prescriptions.Requires that a pharmacy that, on average, during any one-week periodis unable to process a prescription within two days of receipt ofsuch prescription shall report the prescription backlog to the Boardof Pharmacy (the Board). The bill requires any pharmacy making suchreport to submit a corrective action plan detailing its staffing,workflow, technology, and patient communication strategies to addressthe prescription backlog. The bill permits the Board to (i) investigateany reported or suspected backlog; (ii) accept, amend, or rejecta corrective action plan; and (iii) impose disciplinary action againstthe pharmacy permit for failure to comply with this section. Additionally,the bill allows pharmacies to perform centralized or remote processingof prescriptions in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board. The bill directs the Board to adopt emergency regulationswithin 280 days of enactment.

Summary: Department of Health; study of tick-borne diseasesin the Commonwealth; report. Directs the Department of Healthto convene a work group to study and make recommendations for reducingthe occurrence and impact of tick-borne diseases in the Commonwealth.The work group shall report its findings and recommendations to theGovernor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2023.

Summary: Department of Social Services; school boards;SNAP benefits program parent information sheet; free or reduced pricemeals application. Requires the Department of Social Servicesto develop, annually update, and provide to each school board inadvance of the start of each school year an information sheet onthe SNAP benefits program that sets forth the application processand such other information as the Department deems necessary or appropriatein order to properly inform the parents of students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools of such program and encourage application by those who are eligible. The bill requires each schoolboard to ensure that such information sheet is sent home with eachstudent enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school in thelocal school division at the beginning of each school year or, inthe case of any student who enrolls after the beginning of the schoolyear, as soon as practicable after enrollment. The bill also requireseach school board to ensure that a fillable free or reduced pricemeals application is sent home with each such student at the beginningof each school year or, in the case of any student who enrolls afterthe beginning of the school year, as soon as practicable after enrollment.

Summary: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; surpluspayroll funds. Directs the Chief Medical Examiner to pay intoa special fund any amount of surplus payroll funds that will remain unspent at the end of each quarter of each fiscal year. The billdefines "surplus payroll funds" as payroll funds appropriated tothe office for salaries and compensation that at the end of each quarter of each fiscal year will remain unspent due to personnel vacancies. Such funds are to be deposited in the Medical Examiner CompensationFund (the Fund), created by the bill, to be used to make technologicalupgrades or provide temporary pay, recruitment or retention bonuses,or overtime pay to Office personnel. The bill requires the ChiefMedical Examiner to establish a written policy for making disbursementsfrom the Fund and for the State Health Commissioner to approve thepolicy.

Summary: State plan for medical assistance services;dental care; anesthesia. Directs the Board of Medical AssistanceServices to amend the state plan for medical assistance servicesto provide for the payment of medical assistance for charges incurredand anesthetics provided in conjunction with dental care that isprovided to a recipient (i) in a hospital or ambulatory surgicalcenter if the recipient has a medical condition that requires hospitalizationor general anesthesia for dental care or the recipient is a personwith an autism spectrum disorder or a developmental disability, oris a person with a disability, or (ii) in the office of an oralor maxillofacial surgeon or a dentist who has obtained a permit for sedation and anesthesia, if the recipient is a person with an autismspectrum disorder or a developmental disability.

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's health records if the furnishing to or review by the requesting parentof such health records would be reasonably likely 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(i) refuse treatment for a mental or emotional disorder for whicha parent, guardian, or custodian of the minor has given consent or (ii) if the minor is under 16 years of age, consent to the use ofprescription medications to treat a mental or emotional disorder.

Summary: Prescription refills; insulin; authority ofpharmacists to refill prescriptions. Allows pharmacists to refillprescriptions for insulin without authorization from the prescriberin emergencies.

Summary: Department of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices; Catawba Hospital; substance abuse treatment and recoveryservices. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and DevelopmentalServices to transform Catawba Hospital into a state-of-the-art facilityat which a continuum of substance abuse treatment and recovery servicesis provided in addition to the array of behavioral health and otherservices currently provided to geriatric individuals in need of mentalhealth care.

Summary: Hospital price transparency; private right of action;patient payment disputes; noncompliance; prohibition of debt collection.Allows patients to bring an action against a hospital that is not in material compliancewith hospital price transparency laws. Under the bill, if a hospital is not inmaterial compliance with hospital price transparency laws on the date that anelective procedure, test, or service is provided to a patient by the hospital,the patient may bring an action, individually or jointly, against the hospitalto recover payment of the price of the elective procedure, test, or service.Under the bill, a hospital that is not in material compliance with hospitalprice transparency laws on the date that an elective procedure, test, orservice is provided to a patient is liable for the price of the electiveprocedure, test, or service provided and an additional equal amount asliquidated damages; interest accruing from the date the elective procedure,test, or service was provided; and reasonable attorney fees and costs. The billrequires the court, if it finds that the hospital knowingly was not in materialcompliance with hospital price transparency laws, to award the patient anamount equal to triple the amount of the price of the elective procedure, test,or service and reasonable attorney fees and costs. Under the bill, beginningJuly 1, 2023, whenever a dispute arises between a hospital and a patient over apatient payment amount, the hospital's list of standard charges for all itemsand services shall be used to determine the correct payment amount andreasonableness of the payment. The bill also prohibits a hospital, defined inthe bill, or other person or entity collecting on behalf of the hospital, frominitiating or pursuing collection actions against a patient or patientguarantor for debt incurred by the patient on the date or dates of service whenthe hospital was not in material compliance with federal hospital pricetransparency laws.

Summary: Providers of behavioral health and developmentalservices; licensing; inspection. Modifies the requirements forinspections of services provided by a licensed provider of behavioralhealth and developmental services. The bill removes the requirementthat an inspection is conducted annually and replaces it with a requirementthat an inspection is conducted at least once during the licensingperiod. The bill removes an evaluation of physical facilities where services are provided from the inspection requirements.

Summary: Adult protective services; referrals to locallaw enforcement. Removes the requirement that the adult protective services hotline immediately refer certain reports of alleged adultabuse, neglect, or exploitation to the appropriate local law-enforcementagency and removes the duty of local law-enforcement agencies to provide the adult protective services hotline with a preferred pointof contact for such referrals. The bill retains the requirement forthe local department of social services to immediately refer suchreports to the appropriate local law-enforcement agency and the dutyof local law-enforcement agencies to provide local departments ofsocial services with a preferred point of contact for such referrals.

Summary: smartCHaRt network Program. Renames theEmergency Department Care Coordination Program as the smartCHaRtnetwork Program and expands the Program to allow participation by all health care providers, insurance carriers, and other organizationswith a treatment, payment, or operations relationship with a patientin the Commonwealth Under current law, participation is limited tohospital emergency departments. The bill makes several other modificationsto the Program, including adding a requirement that the Program allow health care providers, insurance carriers, and other participating organizations to access information necessary to evaluate and monitorthe care and treatment of a patient in accordance with applicablepatient privacy and security requirements. The bill also directsthe State Health Commissioner to convene a work group to study andestablish a plan to develop and implement a system to share informationregarding a patient's prescription history. The bill requires theCommissioner to report his findings and recommendations to the Chairmenof the Joint Commission on Health Care, Senate Committee on Educationand Health, and House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutionsby October 1, 2023.

Summary: Prescriptions; telemedicine; refusal to fillprescription from telemedicine provider; prohibition. Prohibitspharmacists from refusing to fill prescriptions solely on the basisof a prescriber's use of a telemedicine platform to provide services.

Summary: Department of Social Services; SNAP applications; information. Directs the Department of Social Services to provide information, resources, and education to food banks regarding providing assistance to individuals completing a SNAP application, includingthe process for organizations to enter into a contract with the Department to provide this service.

Summary: Emergency medical services; hospitals; mandatoryreporting of controlled substance overdoses. Requires emergencymedical services agencies and providers and hospitals to report incidents where a person is treated and released in response to asuspected or actual controlled substance overdose. The bill requiresreporting to the Department of Health through an established overdosemapping program within 120 hours of the incident.

Summary: Hospital price transparency; private right of action; patient payment disputes; noncompliance; prohibition of debt collection. Allows patients to bring an action against a hospital that is not in material compliance with hospital price transparency laws. Under the bill, if a hospital is not in material compliance with hospital price transparency laws on the date that an elective procedure, test, or service is provided to a patient by the hospital, the patient may bring an action, individually or jointly, against the hospital to recover payment of the price of the elective procedure, test, or service. Under the bill, a hospital that is not in material compliance with hospital price transparency laws on the date that an elective procedure, test, or service is provided to a patient is liable for the price of the elective procedure, test, or service provided and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages; interest accruing from the date the elective procedure, test, or service was provided; and reasonable attorney fees and costs. The bill requires the court, if it finds that the hospital knowingly was not in material compliance with hospital price transparency laws, to award the patient an amount up to triple the amount of the price of the elective procedure, test, or service and reasonable attorney fees and costs. Under the bill, beginning July 1, 2023, whenever a dispute arises between a hospital and a patient over a patient payment amount, the hospital's list of standard charges for all items and services shall be used to determine the correct payment amount and reasonableness of the payment. The bill also prohibits a hospital, defined in the bill, or other person or entity collecting on behalf of the hospital, from initiating or pursuing collection actions against a patient or patient guarantor for debt incurred by the patient on the date or dates of service when the hospital was not in material compliance with federal hospital price transparency laws.  

Summary: Produce Rx Program established; report.Directs the Department of Social Services to establish a Produce Rx Program as a three-year pilot program to incentivize consumptionof qualifying fruits and vegetables by eligible individuals for whomincreased consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended bya qualified care provider, as such terms are defined in the bill,and to report to the Governor and the General Assembly by December1 of each year on the operation of the Program.

Summary: Return of prescription drugs past their expirationdates. Permits prescription drugs in full or partial containersto be returned up to six months after the labeled expiration datefor full credit or replacement.