|
UPDATE: 2/25/2024 - SB 520 died, it failed to be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee before the deadline for bills to be reported from committee in their chamber of origin of 2/25/2024.
SB 520 was introduced and referred to the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee on 1/23/2024. This bill is sponsored by Senator Mark Maynard.
SB 520 establishes the "Informed Consent for Vaccination Protection Act" which prevents children or parents from being denied treatment in a healthcare facility and includes provisions to ensure that the parent, guardian, or patient are not harassed by the provider, health insurance company, or CPS based on the vaccination status of the patient. The bill also provides penalties to ensure the law is followed.
SB 520 amends the Code of West Virginia,1931, under Chapter 16, related to public health, and Article 3, related to the prevention and control of communicable and other infectious diseases, to add §16-3E-1, §16-3E-2, §16-3E-3, §16-3E-4, §16-3E-5, and §16-3E-6, all relating to informed consent for vaccination.
§16-3E-1 titles the article "Informed Consent for Vaccinations Protection Act."
§16-3E-2 defines the terms used within the bill, including "department" to mean the Department of Health and Human Resources, and "informed consent" to mean the right of all people to be fully informed about the risks and benefits of a medical intervention and free to make voluntary decision on that intervention without being coerced, threatened, or punished for the decision.
§16-3E-3, related to vaccination nondiscrimination, subsections (a), (b), and (c), include the prohibition of discrimination by means of (a) dismissal from a health care practitioner or health care facility practice, (b) harassment by a health care provider or health care facility, or (c) denial of coverage or premium increases by an insurer based solely on the patient or family member delaying or declining vaccination for themselves or their child. Subsection (b) does not prohibit the health care practitioner or health care facility from providing vaccine related information to the patient or parent or guardian of a patient.
§16-3E-4 prohibits the following activities summarized as follows:
Subsection (a) prohibits a health care practitioner or health care facility from accepting insurance bonus, monetary payment, or other incentive from an insurance company or pharmaceutical company for patient vaccination.
Subsection (b) prohibits a health care practitioner or health care facility from requiring a patient or guardian of a patient to sign a liability waiver as a condition of medical care if patient or patient's guardian declines or delays vaccination.
Subsection (c) prohibits Child Protective Services (CPS) from investigating a parent or guardian for the sole reason of the patient's parent or guardian declining a vaccination or delaying vaccination.
Subsection (d) prohibits insurance companies from penalizing a health care practitioner by way of denying insurance plan participation or decreasing the practitioner's reimbursements through fines or other financial penalties based on vaccination rates in the practice or their decision not to vaccinate a patient.
§16-3E-5 establishes penalties for violations under §16-3E-3 and §16-3E-4 of this code allowing the appropriate board or the Department of Health to levy the following penalties:
(1) For a first violation, levy a fine in the amount of $1,000; and
(2) For a second or subsequent violation, refuse, revoke or suspend the license of a health care practitioner or health care facility.
§16-3E-6 defines the rights of patients summarized as follows:
Subsection (a) requires the department to publish a publicly accessible summary of a patient or a patient's parent or guardian's rights under §16-3E-3 of this code on a website in any format the health care provider or health care facility chooses.
Subsection (b) requires healthcare facilities to provide, when requested, the contact information for the agencies responsible for receiving patient complaints.
Subsections (c) requires that a health care provider or facility adopts policies and procedures to ensure that a patient and the parent or guardian of a patient are provided information on how to file complaint to the appropriate state agency, including each agency's address and telephone number.
Subsections (d) establishes fines for the following:
(1) indicates that the violations of this code that the department may levy are summarized as follows:
(i) Not more than $5,000 for an unintentional violation; and
(ii) Not more than $25,000 for an intentional violation, with each intentional violation constituting a separate violation subject to a separate fine.
(2) The appropriate regulatory board, or the department if no board exists, may impose an administrative fine against a health care practitioner for failing to make available to patients a summary of their rights under §16-3E-3 of this code and the following shall apply summarized as follows:
(i) A health care provider's first violation under this paragraph shall be subject to corrective action, not an administrative fine for an unintentional violation.
(ii) The appropriate licensing board or the department may levy a fine of not more than $100 for a second or subsequent unintentional violation under this subsection; and
(iii) The appropriate licensing board or the department may levy a fine of not more than $500 for an intentional violation under this subsection, with each intentional violation constituting a separate violation subject to a separate fine.
Subsections (e) determines the amount of the fine based on the factors considered as summarized below:
(1) The scope and severity of the violation, including the number of patients or parents or guardians of patients found to have not received notice of a patient's rights under §16-3E-3 of this code, and whether the failure to provide the information was willful;
(2) Actions taken by the health care provider or health care facility to correct the violation or remedy complaints; and
(3) Any previous violations under this article by a health care provider or health care facility.
NVIC SUPPORTS SB 520 because people around the country have been fired as patients from their doctor's office or parents have received an unwarranted investigation by CPS based solely on their vaccine decisions. Allowing health care providers to receive monetary compensation for having higher vaccination rates in their practice creates a conflict of interest that may influence a provider's decision about whether or not to vaccinate a patient based on compensation. The health and wellbeing of patients should come first. Similarly, monetary or coverage penalties from an insurance provider to a health care provider based on their clinic's vaccination rates also creates a conflict of interest that may influence the practitioner or practice's policies and cause them to prioritize vaccination rates over a patient's access to healthcare or their health and wellbeing. NVIC opposes all vaccine mandates and supports informed consent. Vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry a risk of injury and death and should not be a condition of receiving health care treatment.
https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=520&year=2024&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill - text, status, and history of SB 520
|