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Results from the 1997
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly met in short session during January and February, 1997 and considered a great many pieces of legislation of interest to the Alzheimer's Association, Northern Virginia Chapter. This report summarizes results of more than 30 bills, resolutions and budget amendments. (As this report is issued -- March 4 -- the Governor retains veto authority over legislation passed by the General Assembly.)
In most cases, our Chapter's interest pertained to the manner in which legislation proposed to alter -- directly or indirectly -- the legal, financial or health security of people living with Alzheimer's disease, their families or their caregivers (personal or institutional). In a few cases, our interest arose because legislation sought to change the way in which nonprofit and public interest organizations conduct business.
Several legislative victories are worth particular attention: passage of House Bill 2785, Senate Bills 408 and 1033, and Senate Joint Resolution 316. Disappointment is in the General Assembly's failure to pass House Bill 2510, the "Caregiver Investment Bill," despite more than half the Members signing-on as either patron or co-patron. Because of an emerging crisis in a state employee benefit plan, that bill and a number of other proposed tax credits were "laid on the table" in Committee. Fortunately, the Caregiver Investment Bill will be re-introduced in 1998 and stands a strong chance of passage because its merits are well understood and little disputed.
Most important, is perspective. During the 1997 Session, while we did not win every battle, virtually all battles were to pass family and consumer-friendly legislation. In past years, too often, our energy was devoted to defeating problematic and sometimes even dangerous legislative proposals. As we prepare for the 1998 Session, we can draw optimism from the 1997 Session's evidence that Senators and Delegates across the Commonwealth are growing more sensitive to the needs of the Alzheimer's community.
If you would like further information about these or other pieces of legislation or for assistance in obtaining a copy of any piece of legislation, please contact Ian N. Kremer at the Chapter office.
1997 Tracking Report Virginia General Assembly
Consumer Protection (see also: Health Insurance)
HB 2117 - Failed
Patron: Purkey
Requires professional solicitors for charitable organizations to disclose the percent of revenues solicited which are spent on overhead and administrative costs as well as the percent of actual revenues which go to the charitable organization.
HB 2785 - PASSED
Patron: Connally
Requires the State Health Commissioner to examine the quality of health care services of Virginia-licensed HMOs.
SB 1033 - PASSED
Patron: Woods
Expands the duties of the Department for the Aging to include the dissemination of educational information to consumers about how to evaluate special Alzheimer's units.
SB 1114 - Failed
Patron: Hawkins
Creates Virginia Anti-Drug Switching Patient Protection Act to prohibit the practice of soliciting or encouraging the substitution of one drug for a chemically dissimilar drug for the purposes of obtaining a rebate, kick-back, or other remuneration.
SB 1160 - PASSED
Patron: Woods
Establishes the Virginia Assistive Technology Device Warranties Act covering the sale of assistive technological devices such as wheel chairs, hearing aids, and motorized scooters.
Guardianship, Fiduciaries, and Commitment Procedures
HB 1916 - Failed
Patron: Weatherholtz
Allows the involuntary temporary detention and commitment of individuals experiencing a serious deterioration of their ability to care for themselves in an appropriate manner as evidenced by delusional thinking or by a significant impairment of functioning, or in need of compulsory treatment for a mental illness.
SB 408 - PASSED
Patron: Gartlan
Substantially revises Code provisions governing the appointment and responsibilities of guardians.
SB 1038 - PASSED
Patron: Gartlan
Conforms various provisions related to guardians and conservatorships to the modification included in SB 408.
Health Care and Medical Assistance Services (see also: Health Insurance)
HB 2218 - Failed
Patron: Morgan
Requires that all acquisitions of nonprofit hospitals be approved by the Attorney General. Also requires the Health Department to hold public hearings and to report to the Attorney General on the effect the acquisition will have on the community.
HB 2847 - PASSED
Patron: Stump
Requires pharmacists, when dispensing a generic drug, to write on the label of the container the name of the brand drug for which the generic is substituted.
HJR 606 - Failed
Patron: Cantor
Requests the Joint Commission on Health Care to study issues related to the preadmission screening of medical assistance patients before admittance to a nursing home.
HJR 612 - Failed
Patron: Morgan
Requests the Joint Commission on Health Care to examine the effects on the quality of care and efficacy of patient outcomes from the use of unlicensed personnel in various patient care settings.
SB 1114 - Failed (see Consumer Protection)
Health Insurance
HB 2784 (same as SB 1102) - PASSED
Patron: Heilig
Establishes contractual, financial responsibility, and disclosure requirements for the PACE long-term care prepaid health care plans. (PACE is an acronym for Program for All -inclusive Care of the Elderly.)
HB 2785 - PASSED (see Consumer Protection)
HB 2870 - PASSED
Patron: Cantor
Limits HMOs' ability to refer an enrollee who is a resident of a continuing care facility to any nursing home except for the one in the continuing care facility. (See also HJR 521.)
HJR 521 - Failed
Patron: Crouch
Requests the Department for the Aging study the impact of HMOs' referral practices on residents of continuing care retirement facilities.
HJR 605 - Failed
Patron: Cantor
Directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to study the interaction between private long-term care insurance and Medicaid eligibility. The Commission is also directed to study the "spend down" requirements of Medicaid and how these requirements affect the level and quality of health care received by the elderly.
HJR 633 - Failed
Patron: Plum
Directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to study long-term care insurance and develop recommendations designed to improve consumer protection, increase the proficiency of insurance agents, and provide consumer education and assistance.
SB 1102 (same as HB 2784) - PASSED
Patron: Schrock
SB 1126 - Failed
Patron: Reasor
Prohibits "balance billing" by health care providers. (Balance billing occurs when the patient's insurance company declines to pay all of the health provider's charge or fee, and the health provider seeks the balance directly from the patient. This legislation does not prohibit the deductibles, co-payments, dollar limits, or cost-sharing provisions found in many insurance plans.)
SJR 364 (same as HJR 633) - Failed
Patron: Woods
SJR 365 - PASSED
Patron: Woods
Memorializes Congress to repeal the section of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 which discourages states from implementing public/private long-term care insurance partnerships.
Long-Term Care and Long-Term Care Facilities
HB 2346 - PASSED
Patron: Jones
Requires that adequate staff to maintain physical safety of residents be on duty at all times on the premises of every adult care residence.
HB 2870 - PASSED (see Health Insurance)
HJR 521 - Failed (see Health Insurance)
HJR 655 (same as SJR 316) - PASSED
Patron: Connally
SB 976 - Failed
Patron: Whipple
Requires smoke detectors in existing adult care residences, adult day care centers, nursing homes, and nursing facilities [a substitute version of this bill only allowed localities to adopt regulations which would require smoke detectors in buildings with multiple dwelling units and rooming houses].
SB 1033 - PASSED (see Consumer Protection)
SB 1037 - Failed
Patron: Gartlan
Limits auxiliary grant of an individual who enters an adult care residence on or after July 1, 1997, and is otherwise eligible for an auxiliary grant but has resided in the Commonwealth for fewer than six consecutive months, to a grant which is the lesser of (i) the maximum benefit level under the optional state supplementation program or the state assistance for special needs program in the state from which he or she emigrated, or (ii) the maximum auxiliary grant to which he or she would otherwise have been eligible under the state and local funded auxiliary grants program established by this section for the first six months the individual resides in the Commonwealth.
SJR 315 - Incorporated in to SJR 316 and PASSED
Patron: Woods
Requests the Joint Commission on Health Care to evaluate various types of respite care available throughout the Commonwealth.
SJR 316 (same as HJR 655) - PASSED
Patron: Woods
Directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to establish a task force to study outstanding long-term care and aging issues including ancillary long-term care services such as respite care.
Taxation
HB 1562 -PASSED
Patron: Cranwell
Changes the definition of tax exempt organization to require the organization to have received an exemption letter from the IRS in order to qualify for tax exempt status.
HB 1756 - Incorporated into HB 1725 and PASSED
Patron: Dickinson
Broadens the current exemption which covers home-delivered and congregate meals provided by Area Agencies on Aging by also creating a sales tax exemption for tangible personal property purchased by Area Agencies on Aging between July 1, 1997 and June 30, 1998.
HB 1909 - PASSED (see also under Transportation)
Patron: Ingram
Reenacts Section 58.1-346.4 of the Code of Virginia to allow taxpayers to make voluntary contributions from their state income tax refund to the Department for the Aging for transportation services to elderly and disabled citizens.
HB 2510 - Failed
Patron: Hall
Provides up to a $500 tax credit to taxpayers with adjusted gross income between $5,000 and $50,000 who provide unreimbursed care to a disabled relative who requires assistance with two or more activities of daily living.
HB 2516 - Failed
Patron: Marshall
Exempts 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations from the sales and use tax automatically when they meet certain requirements.
Transportation
HB 1909 - PASSED (see Taxation)
SJR 308 - PASSED
Patron: Whipple
Directs the Commission on the Future of Transportation in Virginia to study the transportation needs of rural residents, the disabled, the poor, and the elderly. Further directs the Commission to study insurance laws and doctrines of charitable immunity as they relate to volunteer drivers who transport these individuals.
SJR 322 - PASSED
Patron: Reynolds
Directs the Commission on the Future of Transportation in Virginia to study the mobility resources needed by elderly and disabled persons who cannot drive.
Miscellaneous
HB 2779 - PASSED
Patron: McDonnell
Refines reporting requirements for those required to report the abuse of adults from "immediately" to "within 24 hours of the first suspicion of abuse."
SB 937 - Failed
Patron: Gartlan
Removes the limiting judicial review standards for public assistance cases. As a result, the regular standards of review found in the Administrative Process Act (substantial evidence test and review of questions of law) would apply in cases involving public assistance.
Home and Community Based Care Budget Amendments
SB 700
Patrons: Walker and Chichester
HB 1600
Patron: Dickinson
Home Delivered Meals - $500,000
In-Home Services - $750,000
Transportation - $0
Long-Term Care Ombudsman - $60,000
Case Management - $50,000
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Home | Contribute | Volunteer
| Membership | What's New
| Calendar of Events | Links | About Alzheimer's | Programs
& Services | Search
Last updated: June 17, 1997
Please return to https://www.alz-nova.org or
call 800-207-8679 or (703) 359-4440
for more information about services in Northern Virginia.
© 1997 - 2001 Alzheimer's Association, Northern Virginia Chapter. All rights reserved.
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