Legislature Enters Final Week of Session

With only seven days left in the session, the pace picked up this week with legislators working to pass bills out of their respective chambers by "cross- over day" on Wednesday.  One hundred seventy-two Senate bills have been sent to the House, and 174 House bills have been sent to the Senate. Committees will work next week on the respective House's bills. 

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Bill Grants Pharmacists Immunization Privileges

A bill granting pharmacists the ability to administer adult immunizations, HB 3056, now looks positioned to pass the Legislature.  The House passed the bill which, in its original form, would have allowed pharmacists to administer influenza, pneumonia, hepatitis A and B, tetanus and herpes zoster vaccinations under rules established by the Board of Pharmacy.  The WVSMA and the WV Academy of Family Physicians raised concerns regarding patient safety as a result of this scope of practice expansion.  The Board of Pharmacy asserted that pharmacists are properly trained in immunization administration and that it is a logical extension of care.  West Virginia pharmacists have been pursuing immunization privileges through legislation over the past few years.  They have been espousing the fact that forty-six other states allow pharmacists to give immunizations.

The Senate Health Committee placed this bill into a subcommittee for further review this week.  The Committee met on Friday, February 29, amended the bill and passed it out to the full Health Committee.  The bill in its current form will allow the Board of Pharmacy, with the advice of the Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathy to draft rules allowing pharmacists to administer the influenza and pneumonia vaccinations.  Additionally the bill allows the Board of Pharmacy with the advice and consent of the other two boards to develop rules allowing pharmacists to administer other adult vaccinations. 

The bill sets out the following list of criteria that, at a minimum, must be in both rules:

• Pharmacists may give adult immunizations only;
• Training courses must be established;
• Pharmacists must observe the persons for adverse reactions;
• Pharmacists must be certified in basic life support;
• Continuing education on immunizations must be established;
• Pharmacists must report the immunizations administered to the person's physician and to the WV Statewide immunizations Information System; and,
• Pharmacists can not delegate their authority to any other person. 

With these restrictions, and with the requirement for involvement of the Board of Medicine and the Board of Pharmacy, the WVSMA has agreed to not oppose the current draft of the bill.

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Legislative Auditor may be Granted Broad Powers

HB 4385 has passed the House and is currently being considered in the Senate Government Organization Committee which would grant the Legislative Auditor broad and intrusive auditing powers of both public and private entities which "receive funds" from the Legislature.  The bill is drafted in such broad terms that any person or entity which receives money from the Legislature could be audited for any reason.  The powers would reach into any entity receiving grants or contracts for services and even could be applied to healthcare providers which receive reimbursement for services from state agencies like Medicaid and PEIA.  There have been a lot of discussions regarding what is the true purpose of this bill, what entity is currently under the fire of the Legislature. 

A group of business related organizations have raised significant concerns regarding the bill.  The WVSMA has provided the Senate Gov. Org. Committee with suggested language that would significantly reduce the broad application of the bill.  Senator Bowman, chair of the Committee has called a meeting on Monday, March 3, for stakeholders to discuss concerns with the bill.

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Data Breach Bill Takes Twists and Turns

The AARP's main legislative interest this Session is a bill, SB 340, that would regulate the response to a breach of electronic data containing personal information.  The bill mandates entities which hold personal information (databases, etc.) and which experience a breach of that data must undergo a process to notify all the persons whose information is breached.  The bill, in its original draft, was quite punitive.  The definition of data breach was quite broad, the Attorney General was granted extensive regulatory powers with the potential for extraordinary fines, and the bill included the ability for private cause of action (thus class action suits) for not complying fully with the notification requirements. 

A broad group of stakeholders representing nearly twenty business, insurance, utility and healthcare organizations, including the WVSMA, negotiated for a month with the AARP and Attorney General's office to come to an agreement on the bill.  The group did come to an agreement and the bill passed the Senate.  However; once the bill made it to the House the AARP representatives went against their agreement and lobbied the House Judiciary to modify the bill which they now called "weak."  On Thursday, February 28, the Judiciary Committee did take up the bill and significantly modified it, broadening the breach criteria and adding back in the private cause of action.  This created a significant uproar among the parties which negotiated in good faith for a month and the House and Senate leadership were quickly informed of the dissatisfaction in the AARP's "breach" of the agreement.  After half a day the message was delivered by the House Leadership that they would take the bill back to the form that it passed the Senate.  It is understood that the representatives of the Attorney General's office and the AARP were directed to apologize to the House Judiciary Committee for misrepresenting the agreement that had been made.  The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up the bill in a meeting at 4:oo p.m. on Sunday, March 2.

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Bill Would Limit Free Speech at the Workplace

One of the most controversial bills of the Session is the "Captive Audience" bill, HB 4132.  This bill would prohibit companies with 12 or more employees from holding meetings with their employees where discussion of political matters or labor activity occurs.  The bill is actively being advocated for by the labor community.  Supporters of the bill say it is needed to prevent attempts by businesses to threaten or intimidate their workers.  West Virginia's business community led by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, local chambers and the West Virginia Business & Industry Council, have been calling out the troops to fight against this bill.  The business industry says the bill is a violation of free speech and gives employers one more reason to avoid doing business in the state.  The bill passed the house in a 64 to 33 vote (click here to see how the Delegates voted).

A public hearing was held last week where representatives of several large businesses urged the bills rejection saying that if this legislation would pass and become law, West Virginia would be the only state to prohibit employer free speech.  The bill is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee and may be taken up by the committee on Monday, March 3.

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Medically At-Risk Driver Bill to be Taken-Up by Senate

The WVSMA's bill, HB 4515, which would give physicians immunity for reporting medically impaired drivers to the Department of Motor Vehicles, has passed the House and is set to run in the Senate Health Committee on Tuesday, March 4.  As a result of concerns of the disability community, an amendment is set to run which clarifies that the current process for allowing retesting of drivers will still be employed.  Additionally the amendment will clarify the reports from physicians can also be used to reinstate a persons drivers licenses. The bill is second referenced to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Bill Sets Regulations for Retention and Destruction of Medical Records

The House passed HB 4396 which would set in law a seven year timeline for retention of medical records by physicians and dentists.  The bill sets out a process for destruction of those records after seven years has elapsed since the last patient encounter.  Currently in West Virginia law, there is no clear timeline for the retention of medical records, so the concept of the bill is a good one.  However, the bill also includes a requirement that after the records are destroyed the caretaker of the records must indefinitely keep a master patient indice which includes the patient's name and birthdate; a list of dated diagnoses and intrusive treatments; and, a record of all drugs prescribed or given. 

Additionally, the bill requires that when the provider plans to close their practice that they must get approval from the Department of Health and Human Resources for the storage of the records.  Currently the DHHR has no process for this responsibility.  The WVSMA has raised concerns about the bill and has suggested that if the Senate Health Committee plans to run the bill that significant modifications need to be made.  A preferred option for the WVSMA is that the Legislature should pass a resolution to study the concerns with retention and proper destruction of medical records.  We have gotten preliminary information that this might be the route that the Committee is considering. 

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Many Bills Still Alive in Final Week

This past Wednesday, February, 27, marked pass-over day in the Session.  Any bills which did not pass their house of origin by Wednesday are considered dead for the duration of the Session.  The following is a list of bills of interest which passed their house of origin:

Healthcare Bills of Interest

SB 234: Creating Maternal Mortality Review Team

SB 287: Establishing WV Research Trust Fund (establishing a $50 million WV Research Trust Fund for WVU and Marshall University to finance research in energy and biotechnology; provides for matching funds to make the total $100 million for the universities).

SB 290: Creating felony offense of unauthorized practice of medicine and podiatry.

SB 317: Updating physician and podiatrist licensing requirements.

SB 349: Authorizing Board of Medicine to promulgate rules to license Radiologist Assistants, modify CME and other licensing requirements.

SB 462: Raising the mental health refusal age of consent.

SB 481: Authorizing physician assistants to conduct mental health hygiene process examinations.

SB 554: Relating to osteopathic physician and surgeon licensing requirements.

SB 567:  Regulating all-terrain vehicles (banning ATVs on paved roads except to cross roadways and allowing county and local government's authority to set their own ATV regulations).

SB 590: Protecting healthcare workers from violence.

SB 619: Defining certain external defibrillators use terms.

SB 697: Authorizing Chief Medical Examiner to determine blood tester's qualifications.

SB 699: Establishing Oxycontin Asset Forfeiture Fund (allowing the legislature to appropriate money from the $44.1 million dollar fund- Governor Manchin's plan is have the fund be used by the State Police).

SB 722: Granting regulatory power to certain Board of Pharmacy facilities (giving the Board of Pharmacy oversight over free clinics that provide pharmaceutical services).

HB 3056: Authorizing pharmacists to administer immunizations.

HB 3065: Relating to making false reports of child abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence.

HB 4052: Uniform Maternal Risk Screening Act.

HB 4059: Relating to medical qualifications for school bus operators.

HB 4069:   Requiring vision screening for renewal of a driver's license.

HB 4074: Creating an Office for Oral Health under the Bureau for Public Health and authorizing a full-time director.

HB 4124: Adding CPR and First Aid training to the health education curriculum in secondary schools.

HB 4129: Revising licensing requirements for professional licensing boards, including authorizing a special volunteer license for health care professionals.

HB 4132:   prohibiting employers from mandating captive meetings with their employees that relate to political matters (opposed by the whole business community)

HB 4134:   Prohibiting the sale of cigarettes in containers of less than 20.

HB 4139:  Allowing use of bioptic telescopic devices to operate a motor vehicle.

HB 4144:  Relating to physician assistants and updating language to conform with national changes (allows them to practice under a temporary license until they pass the national certification exam).

HB 4304: Revising the Anatomical Gift Act

HB 4308: Exempting from the nursing licensing provisions the care of the sick when done in connection with the practice of religious tenets of any church or religious organization.

HB 4396:  Relating to retention and destruction of health care records.

HB 4404: Regulating Discount Medical Plan Organizations and Discount Prescription Drug Plan Organizations by the Insurance Commissioner.

HB 4418:  Establishing a statewide reporting system for hospitals to report their infection rates.

HB 4433: Increasing the maximum amount of a medical student loan that may be cancelled.

HB 4445: Adding pharmacists and pharmacies to the definition of health care provider under the Medical Professional Liability Act.

HB 4474: Requiring registered nurses to be circulating nurses in all operating rooms of hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities.

HB 4495: Limiting the use of the titles "registered nurse", nurse practitioner", and "nurse" to persons licensed as such under chapter 30 of the WV code.

HB 4513: Requiring insurers reimburse for newborn screenings.

HB 4515: Relating to reports by health care providers of persons medically incompetent to drive a motor vehicle (provides some immunity to physicians to report when an individual a condition that renders them incompetent to operate a motor vehicle).

HB 4624:  Providing a $50 per diem pay and mileage for volunteers who drive veterans to hospitals

Employer/Employee Relations Bills of Interest

SB 680: Relating to corporate net income tax and business franchise tax.

SB 465: Elimination of Business Franchise Tax

S.B. 340: Requiring consumers' notification of information security breach.

HB 4132: Prohibiting employers from mandating captive meetings with their employees relating to political matters.

HB 4385: Revising powers and duties of Legislative Auditor.

HB 4637:  Expanding broadband access to un-served areas of the state

Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 12: Proposing amendment to Constitution designated Manufacturing Inventory and Tangible Personal Property Tax Exemption Amendment

Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 69: Requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study judicial elections.

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