Be On The Record
BlogSign inSubscribe
HearingsBillsAlerts
← Hearings

Health Subcommittee

Tuesday, February 10, 2026·3h 11m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Health Subcommittee advanced bills on hospital price transparency tools, neonatal care standards, medical cannabis in hospitals, and lab result notification delays while tabling a parental records access bill, an abortion informed-consent bill, a pregnancy resource website, a Right to Try expansion, and a healthcare innovation sandbox — with fierce debate over COPN exemptions, price guarantee obligations, and whether permissive legislation accomplishes anything.

Key Actions

·HB 973 – Lab Result Notification Waiting PeriodPassed

+ 10 more actions

Controversies

HB 829 – Whether hospital price files can be used as billing dispute guarantees

Brent Rawlings (VHHA) argued 'what we're talking about is taking a price estimator tool and turning it into a price guarantee tool. And that's not what this is,' and warned that if a standard charge field is blank pursuant to federal CMS rules, 'if you comply with federal law...you are in violation of state law.' Delegate Helmer countered that 'if you're following existing federal regulation and guidelines, this doesn't change the regulatory landscape at all for you' and that the bill 'provides a source of truth in accordance with the existing regulatory framework.'

+ 4 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“This is the way that life changing news should be delivered. With compassion, with empathy, with curse words, with tissues, with hand holding and with dignity. Katie died at 1:42 that morning. And I'm asking you to help ensure all patients and families receive the compassion and humanity they deserve in the moments when their lives are changed forever.”

Amanda Whatley (public testimony, patient advocate and mother) — Whatley testified in favor of HB 973, which would delay release of certain test results — including cancer diagnoses — in patient portals for 72 hours to allow physicians to notify patients first. She described receiving a push notification from Epic MyChart while still driving away from VCU, learning her daughter Katie had an infiltrating high-grade glioma.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Lay HB 1194 on the tablePassed
Lay HB 1201 on the tablePassed
Report HB 1337 with substitutePassed
Report HB 998 with substitutePassed
Lay HB 542 on the tablePassed
Lay HB 1025 on the tablePassed
No (1)Delegate Walker
Lay HB 1428 on the tablePassed
Report HB 75 with substitute (incorporating HB 486)Passed
Yes (1)Delegate Shin
Unlock the full summary

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

Sign in to subscribe
TranscriptPreview
Center here. Please check the roll for attendance vote on your electronic voting device. Clerk will please close the roll. Okay, we do have a quorum, so first bill is. First item, I think is administrative Delegate Oates, at the request of the patron. House Bill 1209 has asked that we strike that bill. This is a recorded vote. Can I get a motion to strike at their patron's request? House Bill 1209, move to strike. Motion properly. Second to strike. House Bill 1209. Clerk will please open roll. All members, including the chair. Uber chair, I need you. All right. Clerk will please close the roll. The House Bill 1209 is stricken. All right, first item on the agenda is Delegate Scott. House Bill 1194. Delegate Scott. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also have another bill as well. So we'll go with 1194 first, because that's the one that you asked for. This bill comes at the request of a constituent. Constituent contacted my office a couple years back after being unable to access his young son's medical records through hospital online portal. Under current law, licensed hospitals in Virginia that choose to provide minors records with access online…
Continue reading

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

Sign in to subscribe