Behavioral Health Subcommittee

Thursday, February 5, 2026·1h 35m·▶ Watch / Listen

Virginia's Behavioral Health Subcommittee advanced eight bills addressing mental health parity, sickle cell disease, maternal and infant mortality, emergency food access, opioid reporting, and group home abuse investigations, while tabling a restaurant sodium-labeling bill and a group home investigation bill — the latter replaced by a letter directing the Joint Commission on Health Care to study the issue.

Key Actions

·HB 656 – Mental Health & Substance Abuse Network Adequacy StandardsPassed

+ 5 more actions

Controversies

HB 656 reference to stayed 2024 federal mental health parity regulations

Doug Gray (Virginia Association of Health Plans) argued that line 424 of HB 656 references 2024 federal regulations that 'have been stayed at the federal level' and will be rewritten, warning this 'could invite litigation.' Delegate Willett countered that 'there's nothing that keeps us from having our own standard,' and Deb Steinberg (Legal Action Center) countered Gray directly, stating 'the non enforcement policy at the federal level...only applies to federal plans. The rules have not been stayed in any way.' Kyle Elliott (AHIP) also urged the General Assembly to align with the federal enforcement stay.

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“Two years ago, 50% of the in network providers were actively seeing it and being paid to see a patient. Today, two years later, it's 37%. Every parody violation harms someone with a mental health or substance use disorder.”
Rebecca Catterley, Behavioral Health Providers Coalition — Testifying in support of HB 656, which would tighten network adequacy standards for mental health and substance use disorder coverage, Catterley described the shrinking availability of in-network behavioral health providers.

+ 2 more quotes

Votes

Report HB 610 and refer to AppropriationsPassed

Report HB 656 with substitutePassed

Lay HB 695 on the tableFailed

Report HB 1398 as amended and refer to AppropriationsPassed

Report HB 1403 as substituted and refer to AppropriationsPassed

Report HB 1418 and referPassed

Lay HB 1423 on the table with a letter to the Joint Commission on Health Care to study the issueFailed

Unlock the full summary

Subscribe to see all key actions, controversies, quotes, and what's next.

TranscriptPreview

Good morning. The committee will come to order. Do we have a quorum? I don't think so. You have five. While we wait on a quorum, the committee will go. At ease. It. Do we need to come back? I think you need to come back. The committee will come to order. Madam Clerk, will you open the roll? Madam Clerk, close the room. We have a quorum. Good morning. We will start with Delegate Anthony. Good morning. Are we on? Good morning, Madam Chair. Members of the committee, before you have HB 61 0. Delegate Anthony thank you, madam chair. The HB610 establishes a clear statewide framework to coordinate Virginia's emergency food response when household food access is disrupted. The impetus for this legislation comes directly from a presentation delivered by Department of Social Services on last year to the Commission to End Hunger, which highlighted the implementation of the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance Program, AKA vena, and the operational challenges of responding to food access disruptions during crisis. And so the lesson we have here from Veena was not about intent or effort. It was about the crisis time improvisation that is not operationally feasible as a repeatable…

Subscribe to unlock the full transcript, summary, and search across all Virginia committee hearings.