Legislative Update for VA CHW Assn
Friday March 7, 2025

Bill	Patron	Title	Synopsis	Status
SB 980	Ghazala F. Hashmi	Certified Community Health Workers; State Plan Amendment To Provide Reimbursement For Services.	Department of Medical Assistance Services; work group; state plan amendment; reimbursement for services by certified community health workers. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to convene a work group to (i) design a state plan amendment to provide reimbursement for services provided by certified community health workers, (ii) identify opportunities to expand the use of community health workers by Medicaid managed care organizations, and (iii) determine the feasibility of developing flexible training and certification standards that allow community health workers to use their education and experience to satisfy some of the requirements for qualification as a doula or registered peer recovery specialist. The bill requires the Department to report the work group findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by October 1, 2025. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.	S Left in Finance and Appropriations (2/5)
SB 981	Ghazala F. Hashmi	Certified Community Health Workers; Department Of Health Shall Evaluate Status Of Workers, Report.	Certified community health workers; annual report. Directs the Department of Health to submit a report on certified community health workers to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committee on Appropriations and the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget by November 1, 2025. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.	G Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 (3/5)
SB 1447	Stella G. Pekarsky	Health Insurance; Coverage For At-home Blood Pressure Monitors, Report.	Health insurance; coverage for at-home blood pressure monitors. Requires health insurers, health maintenance organizations, and corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts to provide coverage for at-home blood pressure monitors to individuals who (i) have a diagnosis of hypertension, (ii) are at risk of developing hypertension, or (iii) have been recommended for at-home blood pressure monitoring by a licensed health care provider. The coverage provided under the bill shall not be subject to any copayment or fees for an at-home blood pressure monitor. The bill directs the Bureau of Insurance, in consultation with the Department of Health, to establish guidelines for implementing the coverage required by the bill, to monitor compliance of such requirements by health care providers, and to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1, 2026.	S Passed by indefinitely in Commerce and Labor with letter (15-Y 0-N) (1/24)
SB 1451	Kannan Srinivasan	Supplemental Payment To Medicaid Member For Transportation Dmas To Seek Fed. Authority To Provide.	Department of Medical Assistance Services; supplemental payment for transportation. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek federal authority to provide supplemental payments to Medicaid members to be used for transportation to medical appointments when other transportation options are not available.	S Passed by indefinitely in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (1/29)
SB 1457	Jennifer D. Carroll Foy	Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program; Pregnancy Mobile Application, Report.	Department of Health; Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program; pregnancy mobile application; report. Directs the Department of Health to contract with a mobile application developer to create a membership-based mobile application to deliver education, resources, and support to prenatal, pregnant, and postpartum individuals who are eligible for Medicaid. The bill also creates the Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program to offer remote patient monitoring for maternal hypertension and maternal diabetes. The Department shall select a managed care organization and technology vendor to administer the Pilot Program to no less than 300 eligible participants. The bill requires the Department to submit requests for proposals within 180 days of the bill's effective date.	S Incorporated by Education and Health (SB1393-Williams Graves) (15-Y 0-N) (1/30)