Chief Patron: Reid
Accuracy Reporting of COVID-19 Data (language only)

Item 299 #1h

Language

Page 109, line 3, strike "Not set out." and insert:

Authority: §§ 32.1-11.1, 32.1-11.2, and 32.1-35 through 32.1-73, Code of Virginia; and P.L. 91-464, as amended, Federal Code.

A. Out of this appropriation, $50,000 the first year and $50,000 the second year from the general fund shall be used to purchase medications for individuals who have tuberculosis but who do not qualify for free or reduced prescription drugs and who do not have adequate income or insurance coverage to purchase the required prescription drugs.

B. Out of this appropriation, $40,000 the first year and $40,000 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to the Division of Tuberculosis Control for the purchase of medications and supplies for individuals who have drug-resistant tuberculosis and require treatment with expensive, second-line antimicrobial agents.

C. The requirement for testing of tuberculosis isolates set out in § 32.1-50 E, Code of Virginia, shall be satisfied by the submission of samples to the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, or such other laboratory as may be designated by the Board of Health.

D. Out of this appropriation, $840,288 the first year and $840,288 the second year from nongeneral funds shall be used to purchase the Tdap (tetanus/diptheria/pertussis) vaccine for children without insurance.

E. Out of this appropriation, $200,000 the first year and $200,000 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to the State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP) for insurance premium payments, coinsurance payments, and other out-of-pocket costs for individuals participating in the Virginia AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) with incomes between 135 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines and who are Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

F. The State Health Commissioner shall monitor patients who have been removed or diverted from the Virginia AIDS Drug Assistance Program due to budget considerations. At a minimum the Commissioner shall monitor patients to determine if they have been successfully enrolled in a private Pharmacy Assistance Program or other program to receive appropriate anti-retroviral medications. The commissioner shall also monitor the program to assess whether a waiting list has developed for services provided through the ADAP program. The commissioner shall report findings to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees annually on October 1.

G. The Virginia Department of Health shall report for each month within 30 days after the end of each month, on the number of procedures approved for payment pursuant to § 32.1-92.2, Code of Virginia, and include a description of the nature of the fetal abnormality, to the extent permitted by law, as required for eligibility under § 32.1-92.2, Code of Virginia. The department shall report the information by letter to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees.

H. The Virginia Department of Health, in cooperation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), shall utilize $1,600,011 each year from available federal funding in DBHDS, including the State Opioid Response Grant, as available, to purchase and provide opioid reversal drugs to support community rescue efforts for those who deal with vulnerable populations.

I.  The Virginia Department of Health shall review and update their data collection and reporting protocols for COVID-19 or other infectious disease data to only report actual deaths not an extrapolated projection of deaths."