Page 6 | <strong>May</strong>, June, July <strong>2021</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong> <strong>Nurses</strong> <strong>Today</strong> | www.<strong>Virginia</strong><strong>Nurses</strong>.com
www.<strong>Virginia</strong><strong>Nurses</strong>.com | <strong>Virginia</strong> <strong>Nurses</strong> <strong>Today</strong> <strong>May</strong>, June, July <strong>2021</strong> | Page 7 <strong>Virginia</strong> is Among the First States to Truly Honor COVID Healthcare Heroes <strong>Virginia</strong> Legislators Passed a Frontline Healthcare Workers’ Compensation Bill with Retroactivity this General Assembly Session “I have been a nurse for 34 years and have dedicated my entire life to others. I have not worked since July 27, 2020, when I had three seizures, ongoing memory loss, and severe respiratory infection. Now I have heart and respiratory changes along with weakness that requires physical therapy,” said Holly Zimmerman, RN. After contracting COVID-19 in the workplace, Zimmerman suffered severe symptoms and was deemed unfit to return to work. She was left with no job and no funding to cover her mounting medical and day-to-day expenses. “As a single person, I really needed workers’ compensation to pay life's expenses. As a result of ineligibility, I have completely depleted my savings and 401K. I had to sell my car because I couldn't make the payments. My house and student loans have been in forbearance,” said Zimmerman. “My doctor reported to me that I had a severe case of COVID and six months later, deemed I could not return to work. This is what is hurting our nurses today, the length of time to recover.” Since the early days of the pandemic, the <strong>Virginia</strong> <strong>Nurses</strong> Association has received many calls and stories similar to Zimmerman’s. In response to this escalating crisis, the organization swiftly proposed HB 1985, a retroactive frontline healthcare workers’ compensation bill, to the <strong>2021</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong> General Assembly session. Delegate Christ Hurst (D - Montgomery) served as the primary patron of the bill while Delegate Jay Jones (D - Norfolk) sponsored a similar version of the bill for first responders. The bill endured many hurdles early on during the legislative session. Most notably, legislators were at an impasse over the compensation dates for the bill. The House of Delegates opted for retroactivity coverage starting in March of 2020 while the Senate pushed for coverage from July <strong>2021</strong> to December <strong>2021</strong>. Research shows that healthcare workers are three times more likely to contract COVID-19 than the general public, according to a study published in Lancet Public Health. Furthermore, nurses treating or diagnosing COVID-19 positive patients are at an even higher risk of contracting the virus on the job than other healthcare workers, per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). <strong>Nurses</strong> are often working at the bedside, providing one-on-one care for extended periods of time to patients with COVID. That extended length of time equates to potential exposure to a higher viral load which increases likelihood of their becoming infected with COVID. VNA knew that a retroactive presumption to March 2020 was essential, especially for frontline healthcare workers who were COVID-19 long haulers. However, because of the nature of the virus and the massive influx of patients continuously straining the system, proving a workplace exposure was nearly impossible under existing law. Many healthcare workers contracted COVID-19 in the workplace since the start of the pandemic and some continue to experience debilitating symptoms for extended periods of time, making retroactivity essential to the bill in order to support our healthcare heroes. VNA Commissioner on Government Relations Mary Kay Goldschmidt noted because nurses were prioritized for vaccines, if the workers’ compensation hadn’t gone back to March, then “it would have helped almost no one.” Another significant concern legislators had was the bill’s fiscal impact on the commonwealth. Many state senators were concerned that <strong>Virginia</strong> would not be able to allocate the necessary funds to accommodate all frontline healthcare workers if they included a retroactivity clause. However, other states had already implemented similar legislation with a high degree of success. For example, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry studied the impact of their COVID-19 presumption for several professions, which went into effect at the start of the pandemic. Their review concluded that the policy change was effective at helping those who contracted the virus on the job, and costs associated with the change were less than predicted. Furthermore, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 17 states and Puerto Rico have taken action to extend workers compensation coverage to include COVID-19 as a work-related illness. All but two states that enacted a presumption made it retroactive (those two states enacted their COVID-19 presumptions on March 5 and April 8 of 2020). “As nurses, we risk our lives every day, even before we knew COVID was severely contagious. This is why it needed to have retroactive coverage,” Zimmerman wrote in her testimony. Thankfully, the legislation passed with full retroactive coverage in early March <strong>2021</strong> and while some minor specifics may change, the legislation is set to be signed by Governor Ralph Northam (D) sometime in April. "We did it!" Del. Chris Hurst, D-Blacksburg, said in a Twitter post. "Health care heroes who got COVID on the job will get the retroactive workers’ comp presumption they deserve!" More specifically, the bill requires a diagnosis from a physician, nurse practitioner, or PA and a positive COVID test, except that prior to July 1, 2020 when testing availability was limited, a positive test or a diagnosis is sufficient to receive workers’ compensation benefits. The patient must also present or have presented with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment. A healthcare worker must avail themselves of an employer offered vaccine once available in order to maintain the benefit of a presumption, unless their physician determines in writing that it would pose a significant risk to their health. “I am grateful for this legislation because I would be homeless right now,” Zimmerman pointed out. “Passage of HB 1985 will allow us to file and receive retroactive workers’ compensation. This will allow me to return to financial security.” It goes without saying that this is a huge win for nursing and for <strong>Virginia</strong>. For the past year, frontline healthcare workers have been saving lives while risking theirs and their loved ones. With the one year anniversary of the pandemic passing, this legislation could not come soon enough for some. The passage of this bill highlights the desire of all <strong>Virginia</strong>ns to finally honor the contributions frontline healthcare workers have selflessly made throughout the past year. "This is how we honor our brave healthcare heroes that put themselves in harm's way to treat those infected with this horrible virus," Hurst said in a news release. "They sacrifice for us and deserve our utmost praise and admiration, but they also deserve our help." This legislation goes into effect on July 1, <strong>2021</strong>. For more information and next steps, please read the August edition of VNT or email Kristin Jimison at kjimison@virginianurses.com.
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