The Virginia General Assembly formally adjourned on Monday, March 1, marking the end of legislative business for the time being and the unofficial start of the 2021 election season in Virginia. This November, voters will elect the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, as well as all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. The party nominating contests for the statewide offices are already crowded, and now that the legislative session is over, sitting legislators are now able to start fundraising and campaigning in full swing.

If you’re interested in supporting candidates in the 2021 elections who will work to improve health care in the Commonwealth, please consider donating to VHHA’s political action committee, HosPAC.

This spring, the General Assembly will reconvene twice for “veto sessions” to consider the Governor’s amendments to legislation passed in the 2021 regular and special sessions. Several of VHHA’s priorities were approved by the legislature – please check out the “Richmond” section below for more information.

What's Happening in Richmond

Virginia General Assembly Adjourns Sine Die
 

The Virginia General Assembly formally adjourned its legislative session on March 1. All approved legislation will now head to the desk of Governor Northam, who has several options available to him: he may sign legislation into law, veto it, amend and send it back to the legislature, or take no action and allow it to become law without his signature. The General Assembly will convene for two “veto,” or reconvened, sessions to take action on the Governor’s amendments or vetoes. Typically, there is just one veto session, but because the General Assembly technically adjourned its regular session on February 11 and immediately transferred all legislation to a subsequent special session, legislators will meet again on March 17 and April 7 to evaluate the Governor’s legislative changes.

VHHA Legislative Priorities:

• Maternal Health Data Task Force – We are pleased to report that House Bill 2111, sponsored by Democratic Majority Leader Charniele Herring unanimously passed both chambers. This bill will be a critical step in comprehensively addressing causes of and disparities in maternal mortality.
• Reinsurance Program – We were proud to support Delegate Mark Sickles, Chairman of the House Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee, on his successful legislation to create a Virginia reinsurance program, which will lower premiums for many Virginians.

VHHA Budget Priorities:

• Emergency Department Utilization Program – Unfortunately, the penalties on emergency providers that provide care to Medicaid patients remain in the budget for now. VHHA has strongly advocated for their removal and will continue to do so in the 2023-2024 biennial budget.
• Trauma Fund – The General Assembly did not amend the budget to include a new funding source for the Virginia Trauma Center Fund, but legislative budget staff have indicated that the current funding will be sufficient for Fiscal Year 2021. House and Senate leadership have committed to work with VHHA to establish a sustainable, dedicated funding source beyond FY2021.
• Emergency Department Care Coordination – The amended budget includes funding for the EDCC program with several enhancements that should result in cost savings to the Commonwealth and higher quality care for Medicaid and FAMIS beneficiaries.
• Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program – The General Assembly restored funding to create an incentive program to help Advanced Practice Registered Nurses enter the workforce and mitigate hospitals’ staffing shortages.
• Behavioral Health – The amended budget includes VHHA priorities related to continuing the Temporary Detention Order (TDO) work group; establishing a work group to review barriers to sharing relevant patient information between community hospitals and Community Services Boards (CSBs); and funding alternative inpatient options to state behavioral health hospital care through the establishment of pilot projects to reduce census pressures on state hospitals.

Thank you to everyone who contacted their legislators about these policy priorities via VHHA’s Hospital Grassroots Network action alerts! Your support helped us generate big wins on legislation including reinsurance and the Fair Business Practices Act.

If you would like more information about the outcomes of the 2021 Legislative Session or specific legislation, please reach out to Kathryn Gilley at kgilley@vhha.com.

What's Happening in Washington, D.C.

Congress Debates Next Round of COVID-19 Relief

As the calendar turns to March, debate continues in the U.S. Congress over President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. The legislation – which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in late February – now heads to the Senate, which could amend it to align with reconciliation requirements as soon as this week. As with previous COVID-19 relief legislation, the current package contains many programs aimed at stimulating the economy, helping small businesses and families, and responding to the ongoing pandemic. Much of the health care-related funding is dedicated to enhancing vaccine distribution and testing, with $10 billion allocated to activities under the Defense Production Act, $70 billion to support vaccine and testing efforts, and $47.8 billion to support continued implementation of an evidence-based national testing strategy.

On health care coverage, the legislation gives states the option to extend Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility to women for 12 months after giving birth and includes incentives aimed at inducing non-Medicaid expansion states to expand their Medicaid programs. It also temporarily increases individual marketplace tax credit subsidies to reduce the costs of marketplace coverage. And the legislation directs the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to recalculate annual disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments for any year in which the temporary COVID-19 federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) increase applies to ensure states receive the full DSH amounts.

Other provisions in the legislation include: requirements that Medicaid and CHIP cover COVID-19 vaccines and treatment without cost-sharing; allocation of $3.5 billion to mental health and substance use disorder block grants; funding to support the public health workforce; $250 million for states to establish strike teams to help skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks; $200 million to support infection prevention efforts in SNFs; reinstatement of mandatory paid family and medical leave provisions included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Exact; and, modifications to affiliation rules under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

It is expected that the Senate will move quickly to pass an amended version of the legislation and send it back to the House for a final vote.