A Senate committee voted to report House Bill 2349 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it do pass, with a directive that the bill be first referred to the Committee on Finance under the original double committee reference. The bill would require licensed medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs to offer long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) to new and current patients or to establish a referral system if they lack a qualified provider.

Delegate Sarah German, the bill’s House sponsor, spoke to the committee and said the measure aims to address West Virginia’s high incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). “West Virginia currently has the highest percentage of babies born with NAS in the country, which is 50 out of every thousand infants,” she told the committee, and said most cases are paid by Medicaid. German said prevention could reduce costly neonatal care and that counseling in the bill is to be noncoercive and tailored to patients’ needs, and offered to both male and female patients.

Counsel told the committee that the bill requires counseling to be non-coercive and that opioid treatment programs may not offer LARCs unless they have a qualified provider on staff; if they do not, they must establish a referral system. Counsel noted two fiscal notes had been provided: the Department of Health and Human Resources estimated $8,600 upon full implementation, while the sponsor said the high costs of neonatal therapeutic care create a longer-term fiscal argument for prevention. The Office of Inspector General was listed as an impacted agency and the measure carries a 90-day effective date.

After brief questioning, and with no committee amendments offered, the vice chair moved the bill be reported to the full Senate with the finance referral; the chair announced the ayes have it.

If enacted, HB 2349 would direct MAT programs to offer LARC options with noncoercive counseling and require referral arrangements when qualified providers are not available, and would require a finance committee review as part of the legislative process.