Fabio
114 lines
9.2 KiB
Markdown
114 lines
9.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: "Bill"
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title: "Mental health & substance abuse disorders; network adequacy standards, comparative analyses."
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description: "Mental health and substance abuse disorders; network adequacy standards; comparative analyses; report; emergency regulations. Directs the Department of Health to issue regulations that include quantitative network adequacy standards for timely access to care, travel time, and geographical distance that are at least as stringent as those imposed for qualified health plans and qualified dental plans. The bill amends the definitions of \"mental health services\" and \"substance abuse services\" for the purposes of health insurance coverage. The bill requires health carriers to submit all comparative analyses prepared pursuant to federal law to the Bureau of Insurance on the date and frequency as specified by the Bureau and includes additional information to include in such submission. Under the bill, the Bureau may impose a penalty not to exceed $100,000 for a noncompliant or insufficient comparative analysis or require a carrier to remove, revise, or remedy noncompliant treatment limitations. The bill also amends the contents of the annual report submitted by the Bureau to the General Assembly to cover enforcement efforts with respect to the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.The bill authorizes the Bureau to promulgate regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and directs the Department of Health to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill directs the Department of Human Resource Management to evaluate the impact of the proposed changes to the provisions of the bill related to health insurance. The provisions of the bill related to health insurance have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 524."
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jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
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legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
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session: "2026"
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identifier: "HB 656"
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citation: "Virginia HB 656 (2026)"
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classification: ["bill"]
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subjects: []
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status: "enacted"
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primary_sponsors: ["Rodney T. Willett"]
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version_count: 6
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action_count: 37
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vote_count: 8
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first_action: "2026-01-13"
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last_action: "2026-04-13"
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source: "openstates"
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source_identifier: "ocd-bill/7470ad4c-0032-4ed4-adde-8a0d183d8863"
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source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB656"
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source_hash: "b6e38e29d440fcccf44aff9db024da027436438228bbd21324f60744ffdd5a6b"
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vintage: "2026-07-01"
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source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
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retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
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confidence: "reported"
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tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
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---
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# Virginia HB 656 (2026) — Mental health & substance abuse disorders; network adequacy standards, comparative analyses.
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Mental health and substance abuse disorders; network adequacy standards; comparative analyses; report; emergency regulations. Directs the Department of Health to issue regulations that include quantitative network adequacy standards for timely access to care, travel time, and geographical distance that are at least as stringent as those imposed for qualified health plans and qualified dental plans. The bill amends the definitions of "mental health services" and "substance abuse services" for the purposes of health insurance coverage. The bill requires health carriers to submit all comparative analyses prepared pursuant to federal law to the Bureau of Insurance on the date and frequency as specified by the Bureau and includes additional information to include in such submission. Under the bill, the Bureau may impose a penalty not to exceed $100,000 for a noncompliant or insufficient comparative analysis or require a carrier to remove, revise, or remedy noncompliant treatment limitations. The bill also amends the contents of the annual report submitted by the Bureau to the General Assembly to cover enforcement efforts with respect to the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.The bill authorizes the Bureau to promulgate regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and directs the Department of Health to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill directs the Department of Human Resource Management to evaluate the impact of the proposed changes to the provisions of the bill related to health insurance. The provisions of the bill related to health insurance have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 524.
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## Version chain
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The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
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1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085375.PDF)
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2. **Behavioral Health Subcommittee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1128557.PDF)
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3. **Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221601.PDF)
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4. **Education and Health Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186918.PDF)
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5. **Health and Human Services Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136599.PDF)
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6. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212308.PDF)
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## Votes
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- H VOTE: — **95–3** (pass) · lower
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- Reported from Education and Health with substitute — **15–0** (pass) · upper
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- Reported from Finance and Appropriations — **14–0** (pass) · upper
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- H VOTE: — **92–6** (pass) · lower
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- Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute — **21–1** (pass) · lower
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- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute — **7–1** (pass) · lower
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- Passage R — **40–0** (pass) · upper
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- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
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## Sponsors
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- Rodney T. Willett — primary (person)
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- Bonita G. Anthony — cosponsor (person)
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- Destiny LeVere Bolling — cosponsor (person)
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- Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
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- Marty Martinez — cosponsor (person)
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- Michelle Lopes Maldonado — cosponsor (person)
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- Nadarius E. Clark — cosponsor (person)
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- Nicole Cole — cosponsor (person)
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- Rozia A. Henson, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
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## Timeline
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The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
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- **2026-01-13** Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104547D `filing, introduction`
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- **2026-01-13** Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services `referral-committee`
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- **2026-01-21** Assigned sub: Behavioral Health `referral-committee`
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- **2026-02-04** House subcommittee offered
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- **2026-02-05** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 1-N) `substitution`
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- **2026-02-05** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB656)
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- **2026-02-10** Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute (21-Y 1-N) `committee-passage`
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- **2026-02-10** Committee substitute printed 26106935D-H1 `substitution`
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- **2026-02-12** Read first time `reading-1`
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- **2026-02-13** Read second time `reading-2`
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- **2026-02-13** committee substitute agreed to `substitution`
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- **2026-02-13** Engrossed by House - committee substitute `substitution`
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- **2026-02-16** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB656)
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- **2026-02-16** Read third time and passed House (95-Y 3-N 0-A) `passage, reading-3`
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- **2026-02-17** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
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- **2026-02-17** Referred to Committee on Education and Health `referral-committee`
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- **2026-02-26** Reported from Education and Health with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
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- **2026-02-27** Committee substitute printed 26108828D-S1 `substitution`
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- **2026-03-03** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB656)
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- **2026-03-06** Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
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- **2026-03-09** Rules suspended
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- **2026-03-09** Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
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- **2026-03-09** Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
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- **2026-03-10** Read third time `reading-3`
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- **2026-03-10** Education and Health Substitute agreed to
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- **2026-03-10** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute `substitution`
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- **2026-03-10** Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) `passage`
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- **2026-03-11** Senate substitute agreed to by House (92-Y 6-N 0-A) `substitution`
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- **2026-03-30** Enrolled `enrolled`
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- **2026-03-30** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB656ER) `passage`
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- **2026-03-30** Signed by President `passage`
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- **2026-03-31** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB656)
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- **2026-03-31** Signed by Speaker `passage`
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- **2026-03-31** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
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- **2026-03-31** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 `executive-receipt`
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- **2026-04-13** Approved by Governor-Chapter 652 (Effective - see bill) `executive-signature`
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- **2026-04-13** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0652)
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## Source
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OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/7470ad4c-0032-4ed4-adde-8a0d183d8863`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).
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