The petitioner requests that the Board amend its regulations to: (1) prohibit physicians, podiatrists, and chiropractors from refusing to provide medical care to patients or prospective patients if those individuals or their accompanying representatives refuse to wear masks; (2) prohibit physicians, podiatrists, and chiropractors from enforcing any requirements for patients, prospective patients, or patient representatives to wear masks to receive medical care, including when following policies of insurers or organizations or when following guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control, local health departments, or the Virginia Department of Health; (3) prohibit physicians, podiatrists, and chiropractors from refusing to provide medical care to any patient or prospective patient based on the vaccination status of the patient or patient representative for any COVID-19 vaccine or for any vaccine under Emergency Use Authorization status; and (4) prohibit physicians, podiatrists, and chiropractors from refusing to provide medical care to any patient or prospective patient who refuses to disclose whether they have received any vaccine, including any COVID-19 vaccine.

The petition for rulemaking will be published in the Virginia Register of Regulations on April 11, 2022 and on the Virginia Regulatory Townhall. Public comment will open on April 11, 2022 and will close on May 11, 2022. The Board will consider the petition and all comments in support or opposition at its next meeting on June 17, 2022. The petitioner will be notified of the Board\'s decision after that meeting. 

The Board considered the petition at its June 16, 2022 meeting and decided it would take no action. Regulating the business decisions of practices, health systems, and hospitals is beyond the Board's jurisdiction. The Board has no authority over health system or hospital policy, and will not categorically penalize practitioners for following directives of those organizations. Additionally, the Board wishes to preserve physician autonomy, particularly the medical judgment of practitioners, in ways that are in the best interests of public health or individual patients.