How Emergency Medicine fared in the ‘25 session — VACEP | Virginia College of Emergency Physicians

Feb 25

Feb 25 How Emergency Medicine fared in the ‘25 session

The General Assembly adjourned on Saturday, and with it, we have the end results on the bills that touched emergency medicine. Here’s where things landed.

For bills that are with Gov. Glenn Youngkin for his signature, he has until March 24 to sign, amend, or veto. We will continue to work to ensure the bills we supported are signed into law.

P.S. On July 1, a new law goes into effect requiring 24/7 physical physician presence in every Virginia emergency department. This is the direct result of advocacy in the 2024 General Assembly (the bill had a one-year delayed enactment clause). Here’s more.

Bills VACEP SupportED

Emergency physicians braved the freezing cold with nothing but white coats at our annual EM Advocacy Day on Jan. 22. They are pictured here at the Virginia State Capitol.

Reporting of violent threats or battery against healthcare providers HBB2269 (Kathy L. Tran, D-Fairfax) & SB1260 (Lachrecse Aird, D-Henrico)

Status: Unanimously approved and awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Why VACEP supported: The bill requires Virginia hospitals to report any threat or battery against a working healthcare provider while on premises of a medical facility. The Department of Health would publish aggregate numbers on its website.

All Virginia emergency physicians and ER nurses have a story of workplace violence that they have experienced from unruly patients or visitors. Transparency in reporting is good for patient, physician, and staff safety. Reporting will help hospitals to collect data to more deeply understand, and respond, to the issue of workplace violence.

More flexibility for Psychiatric Emergency Departments HB1895 (Rodney Willett, D-Henrico) & SB1094 (Sen. Emily Jordan, R-Suffolk)

Status: Unanimously approved and awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Why VACEP supported: The emergency department is not the proper setting for patients having a mental or behavioral health episode. Psychiatric EDs are specifically made for these vulnerable patients to give them a more appropriate setting for care, reduce boarding, and get patients the help they need faster.

The bill eliminates a requirement that psych EDs be directly “adjacent” to the traditional ED to give greater flexibility in the location of specialized facility. An amendment requires a physician be physically present in the psychiatric ED 24/7/365 just as they are in standard EDs (a law that goes into effect July 1, 2025).

A carveout for narcotic treatment programs on the PMP HB2649 (Del. H. Otto Wachsmann Jr., R-Isle of Wight)

Status: Unanimously approved and awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Why VACEP supported: The bill removes the current exemption that licensed narcotic maintenance treatment programs are not required to be reported in the Prescription Monitoring Program.

These treatment programs would now be obligated to be reported to the state's monitoring system, meaning emergency physicians will be able to see when methadone and similar treatments have been prescribed to patients. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Delayed reporting of medical records HB1732 (Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News)

Status: Failed

Why VACEP supported: Would have required entities to wait 72 hours before disclosing test results that could indicate malignancy or genetic markers as part of a patient's health records. The bill is supported by medical providers but met some opposition from the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) with concerns over implementation. Discussions will continue and VACEP is committed to working out the issues.

Bills VACEP OpposeD

Raising the Med Mal Cap in Certain Cases SB904 (Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin)

Status: Defeated

Why VACEP opposed: Removing or modifying the med mal cap will significantly increase the cost of providing and receiving healthcare in Virginia. Under the existing cap, liability costs for doctors or hospitals will increase by 11%. Without a cap and a claim as high as $50 million, costs would rise more than 112%, according to a study by Milliman.

Healthcare providers and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association support Virginia's current medical malpractice laws. In 2010 and 2011, VACEP worked with the trial lawyers to reach a consensus on updates to the cap. Lawmakers approved an increase of $50,000 per year until 2032 (until reaching $3 million on July 1, 2031). This model was created to give stability and certainty for all stakeholders.

A study on physician assistant (PA) independent practice HB2489 (Del. Rozia Henson, D-Prince William)

Status: Passed and awaiting the Governor’s signature.

The legislation directs the Department of Health Professions to conduct a study on expanding scope of practice for physician assistants in Virginia to increase their autonomy. In addition to reviewing the education and training requirements for PAs, the study includes an analysis of the costs and benefits to patients should PAs be given increased autonomy. The study is due to a House committee by Nov. 1. VACEP will continue to monitor this study.

Eliminating supervision of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists HB2391 (Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax)

Status: Defeated

This bill would have eliminated the requirement that certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) practice under the supervision of a physician. Instead, it would require them to practice in consultation with a physician and in accordance with regulations jointly overseen by the Virginia Board of Medicine and Virginia Board of Nursing.

Why do we oppose Scope of Practice bills? Here’s an explainer.

Equalizing insurance reimbursements for all providers SB1290 (Sen. R Creigh Deeds, D-Albemarle)

Status: Failed

Why VACEP opposed: The bill would have paid all practitioners the same for providing similar care. While the bill is dead for the year, it is being studied, and VACEP will continue to monitor it.