VHCA-VCAL bills received favorable votes in committee this week, including truth in advertising, emergency evacuation of nursing homes, and assisted living facility generator testing. We were also able to work with a bill patron to favorably amend a bill related to providing patients elective procedure payment estimates. 

Truth in Advertising Bill Heads to the Full Senate

The Senate Education and Health Committee voted unanimously to send SB 1217, our Truth in Advertising bill, to the full Senate. In describing the legislation to committee members, VHCA-VCAL lobbyist Scott Johnson showed copies of the attack ads and announced that the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association had no objections to the bill. Committee members questioned whether any Virginia attorneys were involved with the ads; Johnson replied that he understood that one of the attorneys associated with the law firm in question while based in Florida, was admitted to the bar in Virginia. 

VHCA-VCAL is deeply appreciative of Sen. Steve Newman’s (R-Lynchburg) willingness to patron the bill for us. The bill language proposes that if an advertiser uses information from a survey or inspection report in an ad, the advertisement must also include details of the corrective action plan and the date the deficiency was corrected. The legislation does not prohibit the use of information from surveys or inspections in ads.

The companion bill in the House of Delegates, HB 2219 carried by Del. Bobby Orrock (R-Caroline) is awaiting a hearing by the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee (HWI).

House Committee Endorses Emergency Evacuation of Nursing Homes Bill 

The Health, Welfare and Institutions (HWI) Committee voted 22-0 in favor of HB 1870 bill patroned by Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax) at the request of VHCA-VCAL. This legislation will help nursing homes comply with the federal emergency preparedness regulations. Under those federal requirements, nursing homes must develop arrangements with other health care facilities to accept their residents in the event they have to limit or cease operation in an emergency. Many Virginia nursing homes and hospitals have signed the Virginia Long-Term Care Mutual Aid Plan Memorandum of Understanding (LTC MAP MOU) to satisfy this requirement. The MOU is a voluntary agreement among participants to share supplies, resources, and even house residents from other facilities when a serious need arises. A key component of the MOU requires a participating facility to have the ability to expand its bed capacity to 110 percent of its licensed bed capacity to accept residents from evacuating facilities. This bill gives the State Health Commissioner the authority to exempt nursing homes or hospitals from the requirement to obtain a certificate to add these temporary beds during a public health emergency when a natural or manmade disaster has caused the evacuation of nursing homes or hospitals. Companion bills  HB 2451, and SB 1277 have been referred to the House HWI Committee and the Senate Education and Health Committee, respectively.

ALF Generator Testing 

The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee unanimously supported the substitute language offered by Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston) for her bill SB 1077 related to generators in assisted living. The approved language, proposed by VHCA-VCAL, will direct the Department of Social Services (DSS) to issue regulations that would require:

• ALFs with on-site emergency generators must include a description of its capacity as outlined in the emergency response plan.
• ALFs that maintain a connection for mobile generators must have agreements with vendors to provide emergency generators as well as backup agreements should the initial vendors be unable to fulfill their supply agreements during an emergency.
• ALFs must test the connection for any on-site generators at installation and then every two years; and
• ALFs must conduct monthly testing of all on-site generators and maintain records of such testing.

VHCA-VCAL President and CEO Keith Hare remarked, “I have deep respect for Sen. Howell’s efforts to work with us on the bill language to affirm our shared goal of ensuring the safety of all residents in Virginia’s assisted living communities.”

Elective Procedure Payment Estimates

Del. David Toscano (D-Charlottesville) introduced HB 2750 to bring greater transparency to hospital payment estimates for elective procedures.  As introduced, however, his bill would have required all medical care facilities, which captures nursing facilities, to provide these disclosures. After explaining that federal regulations already govern how nursing facilities must inform patients of items and services not covered by Medicaid or Medicare, Del. Toscano accepted VHCA-VCAL’s suggestion to maintain the current language in the statute to have his bill only apply to hospitals. VHCA-VCAL is grateful to Del. Toscano and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association for their cooperation on this issue. The amended bill will be heard in the HWI Committee next week.