The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee met on Thursday afternoon and advanced four bills regarding child welfare, medical physician education, pharmacy benefit managers, and the vape safety act.
House Bill 5214 would require parents who have been adjudicated for child abuse or neglect to undergo lab-confirmed drug testing before their child is returned home.
If a parent tests positive for alcohol or controlled substances without a valid prescription or medical marijuana card, the child cannot be reunified until the issue is addressed, and the court must hold a hearing within 10 days.
Senator Joey Garcia (D – Marion, 13) proposed an amendment that would strike language requiring the child to be removed from their parents’ home immediately if the parent tests positive and instead require the court to make that decision.
The amendment was adopted.
Senator Patricia Rucker (R – Jefferson, 16) proposed an amendment clarifying that a parent can only be tested for drugs if reasonably suspected by the court or the department.
The amendment was adopted.
The bill, as amended, was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Judiciary.
House Bill 4951 would require all physicians, podiatrists, and osteopathic physicians in West Virginia to complete continuing medical education (CME) in nutrition as part of their biennial license renewal.
The bill is intended to ensure that medical professionals maintain up-to-date knowledge in nutrition to support patient care.
Senator Tom Takubo (R – Kanawha, 17) proposed an amendment clarifying that new and renewal licensees would be required to complete the medical education in nutrition once, and current licensees will continue the nutrition education update when recommended by the Board of Medicine.
The amendment was adopted.
The bill, as amended, was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
House Bill 5430 would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from managing benefits for any pharmacy they own or have an affiliate in West Virginia.
The bill would require PBMs to pay all pharmacies at least the national average drug cost plus a $10.49 dispensing fee, and prevent them from charging extra fees, secretly adjusting payments, or treating 340B pharmacies that serve low-income patients differently.
This bill is intended to ensure that pharmacies in West Virginia are treated fairly by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and promote transparency and better oversight of how pharmacies get paid in West Virginia.
“If we do not hold PBMs accountable, independent pharmacy will be a thing of the past, and that concerns me with rural healthcare access in the state of West Virginia,” stated Devonna Miller West, a practicing pharmacist in Southern West Virginia who opened her own pharmacy in 2006.
Senator Tom Takubo (R – Kanawha, 17) expressed the importance of independent pharmacies in rural West Virginia due to patients not having primary doctors in hospitals that can provide the familiarity and personal and consistent patient care that independent pharmacies can.
The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
House Bill 5437 would establish the Creating the Vape Safety Act.
This bill would require retailers that sell vape products, tobacco-derived products, and similar items to obtain a license issued by the Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner or a duly authorized agent thereof.
A vape or smoke shop license or license renewal could only be granted if the applicant satisfies the following, but isn’t limited to:
- United States citizen
- The applicant’s background, criminal record, habits, and associations don’t compromise the public interest of citizens and weaken the effective regulation of vapor products.
- The applicant has not been convicted of perjury, false swearing, or any crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year under the applicable law of any state or foreign country.
The bill was sent to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
