Virginia House Bill 368 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: Introduced on January 3 2014 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2014-12-04 - Left in Commerce and Labor
Pending: House Commerce and Labor Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Prefiled) [HTML]

Eye care coverage; carrier practices. Establishes requirements upon carriers, including indemnity insurers, health maintenance organizations, issuers of accident and sickness subscription contracts, and corporations operating optometric or vision care services plans, regarding the operation of health benefit plans that provide coverage for vision care services, optometric services, or health care services and materials related to the care of the eye and related structures. The measure prohibits a carrier providing a health benefit plan that includes coverage for eye care from (i) setting professional fees or reimbursement for the same eye care services in a discriminatory manner; (ii) precluding a covered person who seeks eye care from obtaining such service directly from a licensed provider on the health benefit plan provider panel; (iii) promoting or recommending any class of eye care providers to the detriment of any other class of eye care providers for the same eye care service; or (iv) requiring an eye care provider to hold hospital privileges or impose any other condition or restriction for initial admittance to a provider panel not necessary for the delivery of eye care upon such providers which would have the effect of excluding an individual eye care provider or class of eye care providers from participation on the health benefit plan provider panel. The measure also requires such a carrier to (a) ensure that all eye care providers on a health benefit plan provider panel are included on any publicly accessible list of participating eye care providers for the health benefit plan; (b) allow each eye care provider on a health benefit plan provider panel, without discrimination between classes of eye care providers, to furnish covered eye care services to covered persons to the extent permitted by such provider's licensure; and (c) include opticians, optometrists, and ophthalmologists on the health benefit plan provider panel in a manner that ensures covered persons timely access and geographic access to eye care. Violators are subject to injunctive relief and damages of not more than $100 and reasonable attorney fees and court costs.

Eye care coverage; requirement for carrier practices.

Sen. Chris Head [R]

Date	Chamber	Action
2014-12-04	House	Left in Commerce and Labor
2014-01-28	House	Continued to 2015 in Commerce and Labor by voice vote
2014-01-23	House	Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2015 by voice vote
2014-01-15	House	Assigned C & L sub: Subcommittee #2
2014-01-03	House	Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
2014-01-03	House	Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/14 14100136D

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
38	2	3407.19	(n/a)	See Bill Text
38	2	4214	(n/a)	See Bill Text
38	2	4319	(n/a)	See Bill Text
38	2	4509	(n/a)	See Bill Text
38	2	510	(n/a)	See Bill Text

Type	Source
Summary	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+sum+HB368
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+ful+HB368+hil