HB157: Right to Treat Act; requirement of Maintenance of Certification prohibited, etc.
HOUSE BILL NO. 157
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 32.1-134.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 34 of Title 38.2 a section numbered 38.2-3407.20 and by adding a section numbered 54.1-2912.1:1 as follows:
§ 32.1-134.1. When denial, etc., to duly licensed physician of staff membership or professional privileges improper.
It shall be an
improper practice for the governing body of a hospital which has twenty-five
beds or more and which A. No hospital or other
entity that has an organized medical staff or a process for credentialing
physicians as members of staff or employs or enters into contracts for
employment with physicians and that is
required by state law to be licensed to
refuse or shall
(i) fail or
refuse to act within
sixty days of a completed on an
application for staff membership or professional privileges or submitted by a licensed
physician within 60 days of receipt of a
completed application, (ii)
deny or withhold from a
duly licensed physician
staff membership or professional privileges in such hospital or other entity from a licensed
physician, or to
(iii) exclude or expel a
licensed physician from staff membership in such hospital or other entity, or (iv)
curtail, terminate, or
diminish in any way a
physician's the
professional privileges of a
licensed physician in such hospital or other entity, without
stating in writing the reason or reasons therefor, a copy of which shall be
provided to the physician. If the reason or reasons stated are unrelated to
standards of patient care, patient welfare, violation of the rules and
regulations of the institution or staff, the objectives or efficient operations
of the institution, or the
character or competency of the applicant, or misconduct in anysuch hospital or other entity, it such failure, refusal,
denial, withholding, exclusion,
expulsion, curtailment, termination, or diminishment shall
be deemed an improper practice.
B. No hospital or other entity described in subsection A shall require any Maintenance of Certification or Osteopathic Continuous Certification, as defined in § 54.1-2912.1:1, as a condition of granting or continuing staff membership or professional privileges to a licensed physician.
C. Any
licensed physician licensed in
this Commonwealth to practice medicine who is aggrieved by
any violation of this section shall have the right to seek an injunction from
the circuit court of the city or county in which the hospital or other entity alleged to
have violated this section is located prohibiting any such further violation.
The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to impair or affect any
other right or remedy;, provided that a violation of
this section shall not constitute a violation of the provisions of this article
for the purposes of § 32.1-135.
§ 38.2-3407.20. Requirement of Maintenance of Certification prohibited.
No provider plan pursuant to this chapter or Chapter 42 (§ 38.2-4200 et seq.) or health maintenance organization pursuant to Chapter 43 (§ 38.2-4300 et seq.) shall (i) require any Maintenance of Certification or Osteopathic Continuous Certification, as defined in § 54.1-2912.1:1, as a condition of participation or reimbursement for a physician licensed by the Board of Medicine pursuant to Chapter 29 (§ 54.1-2900 et seq.) of Title 54.1 or (ii) establish different rates of reimbursement for physicians based on participation in any Maintenance of Certification or Osteopathic Continuous Certification, as defined in § 54.1-2912.1:1.
§ 54.1-2912.1:1. Requirement of Maintenance of Certification prohibited.
A. As used in this section,
"Maintenance of Certification" means a continuing professional development program through which physicians certified by one or more of the medical specialty boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties or any other entity providing medical specialty certification maintain specialty certification or complete practice assessments and evaluations.
"Osteopathic Continuous Certification" means a continuous professional development program through which physicians certified by one or more of the medical specialty boards of the American Osteopathic Association or any other entity providing medical specialty certification maintain specialty certification or complete practice assessments and evaluations.
B. The Board shall not require participation in any Maintenance of Certification or Osteopathic Continuous Certification program or obtaining or maintaining any national or regional certification as a condition of licensure to practice medicine in the Commonwealth.
C. Nothing in this section shall exempt licensed physicians from continuing medical education requirements established by the Board of Medicine pursuant to § 54.1-2912.1.