House Bill 2457 passed during the 2017 session of the Virginia General Assembly and amended section § 2.2-212 of the Code of Virginia. The Bill added to this section of the Code paragraph (B) which states:

“As requested by the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and to the extent authorized by federal law, the agencies of the Secretariat of Health and Human Resources shall share data, records, and information about applicants for and recipients of services from the agencies of the Secretariat, including individually identifiable health information for the purposes of (i) streamlining administrative processes and reducing administrative burdens on the agencies, (ii) reducing paperwork and administrative burdens on applicants and recipients, and (iii) improving access to and quality of services provided by the agencies. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to report on the implementation of the provisions of the bill by October 1, 2017."

The following is a summary of agency activities in response to the bill, followed by a section with recommendations for additional actions that could be taken to further the goals described in the bill.