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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia bans prior authorization requirements for FDA-approved antipsychotics under Medicaid
Last action · February 18, 2026: Markup DiscussionSponsor: Evan Worrell
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What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia prohibits the Bureau for Medical Services and managed care medical assistance programs from imposing mandates or controls on FDA-approved antipsychotic medications, aiming to remove barriers to treating serious mental illness.
- House Bill 4984 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature by Delegate Worrell. context
- Prior authorization requirements are administrative processes used by health plans to determine if a service or medication is covered. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Medicaid patients
Bureau for Medical Services
The Bureau is prohibited from enforcing prior authorization or utilization management on FDA-approved antipsychotics and must comply with oversight and data requests.
Health care practitioners
Practitioners prescribing FDA-approved antipsychotics to Medicaid patients do not need to submit prior authorization requests for those medications.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can insurance require prior authorization for FDA-approved antipsychotic medications under Medicaid?
Who oversees compliance with these medical service regulations?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
5 actions- Feb 18, 2026HouseMarkup Discussion
- Jan 30, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Health and Human Resources
- Jan 30, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 30, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Health and Human Resources
- Jan 30, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Elimination of Antipsychotic Prior Authorizations
The legislation carves out FDA-approved antipsychotics from general prior authorization and utilization management controls to remove barriers to treating serious mental illness.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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