The Joint Commission on Health Care held its final meeting of 2024 on December 17, discussing and voting on policy options from staff studies on expanding access to sickle cell disease treatment and strengthening the anesthesia workforce, as well as finalizing recommendations from staff’s study of extending health care to vulnerable populations and adopting a workplan for 2025.
As part of the study of extending care to vulnerable populations, Commission staff were directed to evaluate alternative models for delivering health care (such as community paramedicine, home visiting, mobile health clinics, telehealth, and community health workers); identify alternative models in peer states; and develop policy options for effective expansion of access to care. Staff briefed members on their findings in October; VACo submitted comments on several areas that are addressed in its legislative program, including home visiting and telehealth. The Commission reviewed public comments at its November meeting and took action on the majority of the extensive list of recommendations, deferring action on two items until the December meeting.
Key recommendations from this study approved by the Commission include:
- Direct the Board of Pharmacy to work with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to develop a process to allow dispensing of opioid use disorder treatment medications from mobile units.
- Provide $1.8 million to establish a pilot program to provide funding to local governments to support community paramedicine and mobile integrated healthcare programs.
- Direct the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to develop a plan for Medicaid coverage of community paramedicine and mobile integrated healthcare services.
- Direct DMAS to develop a plan to cover certain voluntary home visiting services through Medicaid.
- Fund a telehealth coordinator position at the Virginia Department of Health.
- Improve training on best practices for providers conducting telehealth visits with persons with disabilities.
- Require local school boards to consider establishing policies to facilitate students’ access to telehealth services during the school day, which may include designating private spaces for appointments. The original version of this recommendation would have required these policies to be established, to include the designation of private spaces; VACo had suggested that further information be gathered about the feasibility of such a requirement before proceeding, due to concerns about space constraints and school capital needs.
- Enhance Medicaid coverage for certain telehealth services.
- Increase funding for the Virginia Telemental Health Initiative.
- Direct the Department of Corrections and the Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails to provide an update to the Commission by October 1, 2025, on the status of telehealth policies within DOC facilities and local and regional jails, opportunities to expand telehealth programs, and recommended strategies to reduce gaps or barriers to telehealth service delivery. Similar to the recommendation regarding telehealth services in schools, this recommendation originally would have directed the establishment of policies to accommodate telehealth appointments for inmates, including designating a private space for such appointments, and VACo submitted similar comments, suggesting that space limitations and other barriers be ascertained before requiring the establishment of policies.
Staff’s report is available at this link.
The Commission’s adopted workplan for 2025 includes three studies: a legislatively-directed study of policy solutions to the fentanyl crisis; an analysis of transportation-related barriers to health care; and a study of access to pharmacy services.
VACo Contact: Katie Boyle