Virginia’s New Laws Taking Effect on January 1, 2024

Virginia’s New Laws: As 2024 draws near, Virginians will have to follow some new rules. During the 2023 General Assembly term, the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and the Democratic-controlled Senate both passed the bills. Gov. Glenn Youngkin then signed them into law.

New rules in Virginia don’t make big changes, but most of them simplify health care. That’s not all. One of the new laws changes how the state handles adoptions, and another changes how medical marijuana is controlled.

Here is a list of the new rules in Virginia that will start on January 1, 2024.

It will be possible to use home studies in other parenting processes

New rules went into effect on January 1 making Virginia’s adoption process more flexible. A home study usually takes two to three months and checks on a potential foster family.

The law states that all local boards, licensed child-placing agencies, and towns in the state may share home studies conducted by a local board of social services or a licensed child-placing agency.

Fostering or adopting would require a request, and there would be time limits and other rules.

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Health insurers have to pay for hearing aids for kids

According to a law that the 2023 General Assembly passed, health insurance plans must pay for hearing aids and related services for patients under the age of 18 if an otolaryngologist recommends them.

As part of the coverage, people with hearing loss can receive hearing aids up to $1,500 every 24 months. The new law applies to plans, policies, and contracts given, granted, or renewed after January 1.

Both the Senate and the House easily passed the bill in February. In March, Youngkin signed it into law.

Counselors who are qualified in other states will be able to work there.

Virginia was able to join the Counseling Compact because of another law that was passed in 2023. This law lets qualified professional counselors work in other states that are also part of the compact without having to get multiple licenses.

The group that runs the compact says the program is helpful because it makes it easier for people to get care, makes sure they don’t lose their care when they move or travel, and makes sure they have good advisers. Some of the other states that are part of the Counseling Compact are Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, and West Virginia.

In January, the Virginia House passed the bill without a single objection. In February, the Senate did the same, and Youngkin signed it into law in March. On the website of the group, you can find out more about the compact.

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New rules for telling people whose health insurance is changing

People can continue to get health care even if their health insurance changes under new rules.

In particular, the law says that health insurance companies that use a “provider panel,” which is a type of deal with hospitals, doctors, or other health care providers, must set up ways to let their customers know when those providers are fired.

The notice is needed for providers “furnishing health care services to the enrollee or furnished health care services to the enrollee in the six months prior to the notice.”

The law also requires telling “the right of an enrollee upon request to continue to receive health care services as provided in the law following the provider’s termination from a carrier’s provider panel.”

Changes to who is in charge of Virginia’s medical marijuana program

From January 1, the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) will be in charge of the state’s medical marijuana program instead of the Virginia Board of Pharmacy.

The change in power resulted from a bill that the 2023 General Assembly passed and Youngkin signed. The CCA will have to follow the rules that were already in place for pharmaceutical processors, which is the formal term for a facility that can grow and sell medical marijuana.

The Board of Pharmacy also gave “valid, active” permits, certifications, and registrations. The CCA board will consider these to have received official approval just like any rules put in place before January 1.