---
type: "Bill"
title: "COVID-19; DMAS shall deem testing, treatment, and vaccination to be emergency services."
description: "Department of Medical Assistance Services; testing for, treatment of, and vaccination against COVID-19; emergency services. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to, during a public health emergency related to COVID-19 declared by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, deem testing for, treatment of, and vaccination against COVID-19 to be emergency services for which payment may be made pursuant to federal law for certain aliens not lawfully admitted for permanent residence."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 2124"
citation: "Virginia HB 2124 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Alfonso H. Lopez"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 45
vote_count: 10
first_action: "2021-01-12"
last_action: "2021-03-31"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/436558b1-4abd-4a66-b2ef-d0ae06ac9d47"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+sum+HB2124"
source_hash: "8324b93a40bf6d26d6b98a8e53c6ff494695eac69c836bbf94f2698d262848ac"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 2124 (2021) — COVID-19; DMAS shall deem testing, treatment, and vaccination to be emergency services.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; testing for, treatment of, and vaccination against COVID-19; emergency services. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to, during a public health emergency related to COVID-19 declared by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, deem testing for, treatment of, and vaccination against COVID-19 to be emergency services for which payment may be made pursuant to federal law for certain aliens not lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **CHAP0476** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+CHAP0476)
2. **HB2124ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+HB2124ER)
3. **Prefiled and ordered printed with emergency clause; offered 01/13/21 21102611D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+HB2124)
4. **Printed as engrossed 21102611D-E** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+HB2124E)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions (12-Y 9-N) — **12–9** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate with amendment (38-Y 1-N) — **38–1** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendments (4-Y 2-N) — **4–2** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Appropriations with amendment(s) (12-Y 6-N) — **12–6** (pass) · lower
- Continued to 2021 Sp. Sess. 1 in Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Finance and Appropriations with amendment (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Adoption (61-Y 38-N) — **60–38** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Passage (55-Y 45-N) — **54–45** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Education and Health (14-Y 0-N) — **14–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Alfonso H. Lopez — primary (person)
- Dan I. Helmer — cosponsor (person)
- Danica A. Roem — cosponsor (person)
- David A. Reid — cosponsor (person)
- Dawn M. Adams — cosponsor (person)
- Delores L. McQuinn — cosponsor (person)
- Don L. Scott — cosponsor (person)
- Elizabeth R. Guzman — cosponsor (person)
- Kathleen Murphy — cosponsor (person)
- Kathy K.L. Tran — cosponsor (person)
- Kaye Kory — cosponsor (person)
- Kenneth R. Plum — cosponsor (person)
- Lee J. Carter — cosponsor (person)
- Marcus B. Simon — cosponsor (person)
- Mark H. Levine — cosponsor (person)
- Mark L. Keam — cosponsor (person)
- Patrick A. Hope — cosponsor (person)
- Roslyn C. Tyler — cosponsor (person)
- Shelly A. Simonds — cosponsor (person)
- Suhas Subramanyam — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-12** Prefiled and ordered printed with emergency clause; offered 01/13/21 21102611D `introduction`
- **2021-01-12** Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-21** Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions (12-Y 9-N) `committee-passage`
- **2021-01-21** Referred to Committee on Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-22** Assigned App. sub: Health & Human Resources `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-22** Impact statement from DPB (HB2124)
- **2021-01-27** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2021-01-27** Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendments (4-Y 2-N)
- **2021-01-27** House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2021-01-27** Reported from Appropriations with amendment(s) (12-Y 6-N) `committee-passage`
- **2021-01-28** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2021-01-29** House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2021-01-29** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2021-01-29** Committee amendment agreed to
- **2021-01-29** Amendments by Delegate Lopez agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2021-01-29** Emergency clause deleted
- **2021-01-29** Engrossed by House as amended HB2124E
- **2021-01-29** Printed as engrossed 21102611D-E
- **2021-02-01** Read third time and passed House (55-Y 45-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-02-01** VOTE: Passage (55-Y 45-N)
- **2021-02-02** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2021-02-02** Referred to Committee on Education and Health `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-05** Impact statement from DPB (HB2124E)
- **2021-02-05** Continued to 2021 Sp. Sess. 1 in Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)
- **2021-02-12** Assigned Education sub: Health `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-18** Reported from Education and Health (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-18** Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-22** Senate committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2021-02-22** Reported from Finance and Appropriations with amendment (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-24** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2021-02-25** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2021-02-25** Reading of amendment waived
- **2021-02-25** Committee amendment agreed to
- **2021-02-25** Engrossed by Senate as amended
- **2021-02-25** Passed Senate with amendment (38-Y 1-N) `passage`
- **2021-02-25** Placed on Calendar
- **2021-02-25** Senate amendment agreed to by House (61-Y 38-N)
- **2021-02-25** VOTE: Adoption (61-Y 38-N)
- **2021-03-09** Enrolled
- **2021-03-09** Signed by President
- **2021-03-10** Impact statement from DPB (HB2124ER)
- **2021-03-11** Signed by Speaker
- **2021-03-15** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 15, 2021
- **2021-03-15** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 31, 2021
- **2021-03-31** Approved by Governor-Chapter 476 (effective - see bill) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/436558b1-4abd-4a66-b2ef-d0ae06ac9d47`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).