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Committee removes reporting exemption for narcotic maintenance programs; counsel says federal rule means patient consent is required
Summary
The House Health Committee voted to require dispensing information from licensed narcotic maintenance treatment programs be submitted to Virginia’s Prescription Monitoring Program. Agency counsel said federal changes mean reporting will occur only with patient consent.
The Virginia House Committee on Health voted to report House Bill 26 49, which removes a statutory exemption that previously excluded dispensing within licensed narcotic maintenance treatment programs from the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP).
The motion to report HB 26 49 passed on a roll call of 20‑0. The bill was presented by its patron’s subcommittee and discussed during the health professions subcommittee portion of the meeting.
Why it matters: the change brings dispensings that occur in licensed narcotic maintenance programs into the PMP reporting stream. During the committee’s question period, members sought clarification about whether the change would affect treatment for conditions such as sickle‑cell disease and whether it would hinder access to treatment.
Counsel for the Prescription Monitoring Program told the committee that the federal exemption that had previously covered these programs changed in 2020. The representative said that under current federal rules the federal exemption no longer applies so long as the patient agrees to share information with the state’s PMP; in other words, reporting would not happen automatically but only with patient agreement. The committee recorded no dissenting votes on the motion to report.
Questions from members and staff
- Delegate Doug Price asked whether HB 26 49 could affect prescribing for sickle‑cell disease and whether it might run counter to efforts to expand access to treatment. Committee counsel and other members responded that they did not see an automatic impact on legitimate medical treatment and that the bill would allow patient‑consented reporting into the PMP.
- A representative of the Department of Health Professions (speaking for the Prescription Monitoring Program) said the federal exemption ended in 2020 and that the bill’s effect is to ensure dispensings in these licensed narcotic maintenance treatment programs are captured in the PMP records when the patient agrees to share that information.
What the committee decided
The committee voted to report HB 26 49 to the full committee record on a 20‑0 vote. The motion was reported into the record as presented by the subcommittee; the bill will proceed in the legislative process and, if enacted, the Department of Health Professions would implement the reporting changes consistent with federal privacy rules and patient consent.
Attribution note
Quotes and clarifications in this story come from the committee transcript and the Department of Health Professions representative who addressed the committee. The representative was identified as speaking on behalf of the Prescription Monitoring Program; a full individual name was not provided in the transcript.
