The positive progress continues!
 
We are pleased to inform you that our reimbursement bills – House Bill 1640 and Senate Bill 1178 – have once again been warmly received by committees in both chambers of the Virginia Legislature!
 
In light of the February 5th “crossover,” all bills passed on the House side during the first half of the General Assembly session are now being considered in the Senate, and vice versa.
 
On Monday, February 11, 2019, HB 1640 was reported from the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee with a vote of 13-0, while SB 1178 passed out of the House Commerce & Labor Committee with another unanimously positive vote of 22-0 on Tuesday, February 12th.
 
Since the two bills were reported without opposition, we anticipate that they will be added to the Uncontested Calendar in the House and the Senate. Ultimately, should this legislation become law, it will go into effect on October 1, 2019.

On January 31st, our reimbursement bills – HB 1640 and SB 1178 – were heard in the Virginia House and Senate Commerce & Labor Committees.
 
SB 1178, sponsored by Sen. Glen Sturtevant, faced no opposition and was passed unanimously by the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee by a vote of 15-0. Similarly, during the House Commerce & Labor Committee meeting this afternoon, the companion bill HB 1640, sponsored by Del. Margaret Ransone, was reported by the Committee 19-0.
 
In both committees, the bill was amended so that the legislation does NOT require a study by the Health Insurance Reform Commission (HIRC) – thereby moving our legislation forward to the House and Senate floors!
 
We are delighted by these positive developments. Since the bills were reported without opposition, we anticipate that they will be added to the Uncontested Calendar in both the House and the Senate. Ultimately, should this legislation become law, it will go into effect on October 1, 2019.

As of January 7th, HB 793 regulations are in effect! Nurse practitioners with five or more years (that is, 9,000 hours or more) of clinical experience are now able to submit their applications for autonomous practice. You may find the attestation form and instructions for applying on the Virginia Board of Nursing website.
 
We will soon be debuting a special FAQ, as well as a “Roadmap to Autonomous Practice” that will outline the application process in an easy-to-read format. Further, don’t forget to register for one of our informative Town Hall webinars! Though the January 10th session is now full, space is still available on January 15 and January 30.

Governor Ralph Northam has officially signed the emergency regulations for HB 793! The regulations will go into effect on Monday, January 7, 2019. Per the Board of Nursing’s update, “[t]he application process will be implemented on or before 1/9/19,” at which point NPs throughout the Commonwealth will be able to apply for autonomous practice licensure.
 
The regulations will be published in the Virginia Register on January 21, 2019, after which a public comment forum will open, remaining open through February 20, 2019. The Board of Nursing has also noted that their staff will provide a report about autonomous practice application process at the February 13th Joint Boards of Nursing and Medicine meeting, which will be open to the public.
 
Though we have not yet seen the attestation form, Jay Douglas, Executive Director of the Board of Nursing, has indicated that the form “will mirror the law and regulations” and will be posted on the Virginia Board of Nursing website in the near future.
 
Questions about the legislation and what autonomous practice licensure means for you? Join us for one of three town hall webinars in January! Click on the date you are interested in for more information and to register:

• Thursday, January 10
• Tuesday, January 15
• Wednesday, January 30

On Thursday, October 18, the Board of Medicine approved the proposed draft regulations that would replace emergency regulations for the prescribing of opioids and buprenorphine by NPs.
 
These regulations are favorable, as they permit SAMHSA-waivered NPs to prescribe buprenorphine outside of a practice agreement, so long as these NPs are autonomous – that is, having completed five years of full-time experience and the attestation process, per the requirements of HB 793.
 
On October 10, the Joint Boards of Medicine and Nursing had unanimously voted to approve these regulations, in spite of organized medicine’s opposition. The draft regulations will now be reviewed and voted on by the Board of Nursing at its November 13th meeting. To view a copy of the latest draft regulations on the prescribing of opioids and buprenorphine, please click here.
 
The Board of Medicine also voted to eliminate the separate license for NP prescriptive authority. The updated regulations repeal 18VAC90-40-50 (“Renewal of prescriptive authority”), as well as 18VAC90-40-60 (“Reinstatement of prescriptive authority”). There will be a one-time, $35 fee for the initial issuance of prescriptive authority. For additional information, please see the relevant Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA).