April Payne explains the LTSS Screening process alongside VHCA-VCAL lobbyist Scott Johnson (left) and bill patron Del. Mike Cherry (R-Colonial Heights, right).

As legislators dig in to committee work during the first full week of the 2024 General Assembly session, two VHCA-VCAL backed bills received positive votes.

• The House Committee on Health and Human Services (HHS) voted 18-4 to report HB 291 on LTSS Screenings meaning the bill will advance to the full House for a vote in the coming days. The same committee’s Health Professions subcommittee voted unanimously to report HB 349 to set up a regulatory pathway for medication aides in nursing facilities.

To-date, nearly 2,250 bills and resolutions have been filed. Legislators have until January 19 at 3:00 pm to file legislation.

• VHCA-VCAL is closely monitoring numerous bills affecting nursing facilities and assisted living facilities (ALFs).

Highlights of bills tracked by VHCA-VCAL.

Expansion of LTSS screenings that can be conducted by nursing facility screening teams – HB 291 and SB 24 will remove the need for a hospital patient to have an LTSS Screening if the individual is being discharged to a nursing facility for skilled nursing care.

• In addition, for an individual still living in their home, the legislation will also allow community assessment teams to coordinate with the nursing facility screening team at the individual’s preferred nursing facility in order to perform the assessment more expeditiously and allow the individual to receive the needed LTSS Screening without unnecessary delays due to community screening team backlogs.
• HB 291 will next be considered by the full House of Delegates. SB 24 awaits action in the Senate Education and Health Committee.

Developing a regulatory pathway for medication aides to administer drugs at certified nursing facilities – HB 349 directs the Board of Nursing (BON) to create a workgroup to determine the educational requirements and criteria to be used to enable advanced registered medication aides to administer drugs to residents in certified nursing facilities.

• Under the legislation, the Department of Health would be required to promulgate regulations to authorize such medication aides to administer prescription drugs to residents in certified nursing facilities effective July 1, 2025.
• The new curriculum and registration process would be more stringent than the current registered medication aide (RMA) curriculum used by RMAs in assisted living.
• Medication aides authorized to work in nursing facilities would be able to work in assisted living facilities, but assisted living trained medication aides would not be able to work in nursing facilities.
• The workgroup will help the BON determine distinctions between the two types of medication aides.

Nursing home licensure application requirements: HB 1063 would require applications for a nursing home license to provide detailed information on ownership interests, pending litigation, real property, the financial history of persons mentioned in the application, and more.

• VHCA-VCAL is opposed to the bill and has outlined for the bill patron, Del. Rodney Willett (D-Henrico) how the bill duplicates requirements in the CMS final rule on transparency requirements for ownership, disclosable parties and public reporting, components of the Requirements of Participation, and existing VDH Office of Licensure and Certification licensure disclosure requirements.
• The bill has been referred to the HHS Commitee. 

Professional liability insurance for nursing facilities – SB 579 would specifies that the required minimum amount of professional liability coverage for nursing facilities is the amount per occurrence. The bill also requires such coverage to be noneroding, i.e., the coverage limits are not reduced by legal costs.

• VHCA-VCAL is meeting with the bill patron, Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) to discuss how facilities currently structure their liability coverage to minimize the impact of this bill on members.

Electronic monitoring in resident rooms – SB 661 would give residents of nursing facilities the right to place electronic monitoring devices in their rooms.

VHCA-VCAL is meeting with the bill patron, Sen. Christie New Craig (R-Chesapeake) to review the current regulatory requirements for electronic monitoring.