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 Medication Assistance Program (VA MAP), formerly AIDS Drug Assistance Program, with incomes meeting the VA MAP's current requirements and who are Medicare prescription drug coverage 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 Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance 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 Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance 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 Department of Health shall convene a work group, which shall include the Commonwealth's Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer and representatives of the Office of Health Equity of the Department of Health, the Department of Emergency Management, and such other stakeholders as the department shall deem appropriate and which may be an existing work group or other entity previously convened for a related purpose, to (i) evaluate the methods by which vaccines and other medications necessary to treat or prevent the spread of COVID-19 are made available to the public, (ii) identify and develop a plan to implement specific actions necessary to ensure such vaccines and other medications are equitably distributed in the Commonwealth to ensure all residents of the Commonwealth are able to access such vaccines and other medications, and (iii) make recommendations for any statutory, regulatory, or budgetary actions necessary to implement such plan. The Department shall make an initial report on its activities and any findings to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by December 1, 2020, and shall report monthly thereafter.
J. The Virginia Department of Health shall review and update their data collection and reporting protocols for COVID-19 or other infectious disease data to report actual deaths not an extrapolated projection of deaths.
K. The State Health Commissioner shall ensure that residents and employees of any nursing home or assisted living facility receive priority for testing indicating the existence of the COVID-19 virus in the Commonwealth. The Commissioner shall make available public health testing, if necessary, in order to ensure that nursing homes or assisted living facilities have access to testing that can provide the most rapid results in order to prevent or contain outbreaks of COVID-19. Such testing shall be provided, as needed, by the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services or other public health testing agencies of the Commonwealth. Any testing costs through the public health system for employees or residents of nursing homes or assisted living facilities may be billed to responsible third-parties.
L.1. Out of this appropriation, $722,472 the first year and $1,444,944 the second year from nongeneral funds is provided to contract for COVID-19 data modeling and related services. Of this amount, $504,000 the first year and $1,008,000 the second year is provided to contract with the University of Virginia's Biocomplexity Institute to provide epidemiologic analysis and foresight into the course of the pandemic. Of the remaining amount, $218,472 the first year and $436,944 the second year is provided to contract with the RAND Corporation to provide broader surveys of COVID-19 modeling, literature and policy reviews, and offer expertise.
2. Out of this appropriation, $18,002,665 the first year and $59,123,029 the second year from nongeneral funds is provided to support a mass vaccination campaign when a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available. This funding shall be used to support the purchase of equipment and ancillary supplies, information management staff, support for local health districts, and warehousing and shipping costs. This funding may be used to obtain doses of vaccine in the event there is no other source of funding for this purpose.
3. The department, with appropriate documentation, may move the funds listed in subparagraphs 1. and 2. above, as well as funds listed in paragraphs G and H in Item 307, to any other purpose stated in the listed paragraphs or for other COVID-19 pandemic response efforts.
4. The department shall maintain sufficient records and documentation to report the specific use of these funds. No later than August 15, 2021, the department shall report the use of these funds in FY 2021 along with an estimate of the proposed use of the funding appropriated in FY 2022 and any additional funds that may be required to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic to the Governor, Chairperson of the House Appropriations Committee, the Chairperson of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, and the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget.
M. Out of this appropriation, $1,300,000 the second year from the general fund shall be used to purchase opioid reversal drugs.
N. The Virginia Department of Health shall work with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to ensure that adequate funding, estimated at $2,142,601 the first year and $4,285,202 the second year, is provided for COVID-19 testing and surveillance at DBHDS state-operated facilities. The Virginia Department of Health shall include such activity in its plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the use of the federal Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) funds received pursuant to the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-123). The Virginia Department of Health shall transfer such funds to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as necessary for such activities.
O. Out of this appropriation, $956,377 the second year from the federal Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) funds received pursuant to the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-123) shall be used for the development and implementation of a system for sharing information regarding confirmed cases of communicable diseases of public health threat with emergency medical services agencies in real time during a declared public health emergency, pursuant to the provisions of House Bill 1989, 2021 Special Session I. The Virginia Department of Health shall include such activity in its plan for the use of these funds to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
P. Out of this appropriation, $34,524,000 from the federal Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) funds received through the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-123) shall be used for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing at state institutions of higher education. The Virginia Department of Health shall include such activity in its plan for the use of these funds to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and transfer such funds to the state colleges and universities in accordance with Item 262.80 C. of this act. In the event, that this funding is not fully utilized by June 30, 2022, the department may reallocate the funding to other planned uses for the federal funds.
Q. The Department of Health shall allow federal funds allocated for the VISSTA COVID testing program to be made available to localities or school divisions that request funding to contract with a vendor directly to implement a school testing program.