What’s new: VHCA-VCAL worked closely with bill patrons and other legislators this week to secure favorable amendments to two key bills affecting long term care providers.

• The legislation on electronic monitoring in resident rooms and the bill on professional liability insurance requirements were reported by the House Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee and now head for floor votes.

In other legislative news, the House and Senate have appointed budget conferees to negotiate the differences between the two chambers’ budgets.

• Those negotiations are beginning in earnest as the General Assembly has a scheduled adjournment date of next Saturday, February 22.

Highlights of bills tracked by VHCA-VCAL.

Electronic monitoring in resident rooms: SB 821, as it passed the Senate, would have only allowed the use of electronic monitoring in private resident rooms. When the bill was heard by the health subcommittee of the HHS Committee, it was opposed on the grounds that it did not apply uniformly across all nursing homes. Subcommittee members expressed support for expanding the bill to allow electronic monitoring in semi-private rooms.

• Given the significant likelihood of passage, VHCA-VCAL, with the direction of its Executive Committee, worked with the bill patron, Sen. Christie Craig (R-Chesapeake), to put forward amendments to allow electronic monitoring in all resident rooms, but with the specification that monitoring in semi-private rooms would be visual only (no audio) to protect the privacy rights of roommates.
• The bill maintains other provisions VHCA-VCAL worked to include in the bill, including language that specifies that the costs of the monitoring are to be borne by the resident or resident’s legal representative.
• Before the electronic monitoring requirements take effect, VDH would have to promulgate regulations to implement the changes. Development of the regulations could take 18-24 months after the bill takes effect.

Professional liability insurance requirements for nursing homes and certified nursing facilities: SB 1152 was passed the HHS Committee with a substitute and is headed for a floor vote. The bill will require each nursing home to maintain per facility, non-eroding general liability insurance coverage of $1 million per occurrence. The bill also strikes the requirement for facilities to obtain coverage for criminal acts, which carriers do not write.

• The bill substitute removes language in prior iterations of the bill that would have established a $3 million aggregate policy limit for each facility, which was highly problematic for multi-facility operators.
• VHCA-VCAL appreciates the opportunity to work with the bill patron, Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrison) to get the legislation in a posture acceptable to members.

Nursing home sanctions/civil penalties: Both the House and Senate versions of the bills (SB 1383 and HB 2253) were heard by the opposite chambers’ health committee and favorably reported. The bills are identical and will advance for floor votes.

Nursing home licensure fee increase: HB 2255  and SB 1484  are now both in identical posture and have passed the health committees. The will be voted on the full House and Senate in the coming days.