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HB605 • 2026

Nursing facilities; Joint Commission on Health Care shall evaluate workforce, report.

An Act to direct the Joint Commission on Health Care to evaluate the workforce in Virginia's nursing facilities; report.

Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Willett
Last action
2026-04-08
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Evaluating Nursing Facility Workers in Virginia

This act requires the Joint Commission on Health Care to evaluate the workforce in Virginia's nursing facilities and report their findings by December 1, 2026.

What This Bill Does

  • The Joint Commission on Health Care must study the number of workers in Virginia's nursing facilities.
  • They need to review a previous report from 2021 about worker shortages and compare current care hours with what is expected by Medicare and Medicaid.
  • The commission has to look at how well nurses, both registered and licensed practical nurses, are providing care compared to the state’s requirements for Medicaid nursing facilities.
  • They must also suggest ways to improve nurse staffing levels and report on any costs or benefits of these changes.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Joint Commission on Health Care
  • Nursing facility workers in Virginia

Terms To Know

Joint Commission on Health Care
A group that studies health care issues and makes recommendations to the government.
Medicaid Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing program
A program that pays nursing facilities based on how well they take care of their patients, not just how many hours workers spend with them.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what actions should be taken after the report is submitted.
  • It is unclear if there will be funding for this evaluation and reporting process.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 407 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0407)

  3. 2026-03-25 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026

  4. 2026-03-25 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  5. 2026-03-16 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB605)

  6. 2026-03-14 House

    Signed by Speaker

  7. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Signed by President

  8. 2026-03-14 House

    Enrolled

  9. 2026-03-14 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB605ER)

  10. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Read third time

  11. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  12. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Rules suspended

  13. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  14. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  15. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  16. 2026-03-05 Education and Health

    Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)

  17. 2026-02-27 Health Professions

    Assigned Education sub: Health Professions

  18. 2026-02-18 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  19. 2026-02-18 Education and Health

    Referred to Committee on Education and Health

  20. 2026-02-17 House

    Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A)

  21. 2026-02-16 Appropriations

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB605)

  22. 2026-02-16 House

    Read second time

  23. 2026-02-16 House

    committee substitute rejected

  24. 2026-02-16 House

    committee substitute agreed to

  25. 2026-02-16 House

    Engrossed by House - committee substitute

  26. 2026-02-15 House

    Read first time

  27. 2026-02-13 Appropriations

    Reported from Appropriations with substitute (22-Y 0-N)

  28. 2026-02-13 Health & Human Resources

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 0-N)

  29. 2026-02-13 Appropriations

    Committee substitute printed 26107976D-H2

  30. 2026-02-12 Health & Human Resources

    Assigned HAPP sub: Health & Human Resources

  31. 2026-02-12 Health and Human Services

    Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute and referred to Appropriations (21-Y 0-N)

  32. 2026-02-12 Health and Human Services

    Committee substitute printed 26107613D-H1

  33. 2026-02-10 Health Professions

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations (10-Y 0-N)

  34. 2026-02-10 Health Professions

    House subcommittee offered

  35. 2026-02-10 Health Professions

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB605)

  36. 2026-01-21 Health Professions

    Assigned sub: Health Professions

  37. 2026-01-13 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101934D

  38. 2026-01-13 Health and Human Services

    Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services

Official Summary Text

Joint Commission on Health Care; evaluation of workforce in Virginia nursing facilities.
Directs the Joint Commission on Health Care to evaluate the workforce in Virginia's nursing facilities and to develop recommendations on several topics outlined in the bill. The bill requires the Joint Commission to report its findings to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committees on Health and Human Services and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations by December 1, 2026.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to direct the Joint Commission on Health Care to evaluate the workforce in Virginia's nursing facilities; report.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1.
§ 1. That the Joint Commission on Health Care shall evaluate the workforce in Virginia's nursing facilities. In conducting its evaluation, the Joint Commission shall (i) review the findings of its 2021 report on "Workforce Challenges in Virginia's Nursing Homes" and assess current nursing facility direct care hours per resident compared to the current Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expected hours, (ii) examine direct care provided by registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nurse aides in nursing facilities and whether this level of care meets the hour requirement set by the Department of Medical Assistance Services for use in the Virginia Medicaid Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing program of case mix-adjusted total nurse staffing hours. The Joint Commission shall also review and develop recommendations on the efficacy of utilizing a measure of registered nurse coverage as an additional component of the minimum staffing requirement, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. The review shall examine (i) the potential care benefits of increased registered nurse coverage, (ii) the practical impact of such a measure on staffing availability and costs, (iii) methods for reporting and calculating a measure of registered nurse coverage; and (iv) any other relevant factors necessary to determine compliance with such a measure. Additionally, such review shall consider other aspects of the hours per patient per day component of the staffing standards established pursuant to this act, including use of an adjusted per patient per day staffing requirement and the potential inclusion of other direct care professionals in the per patient day calculation. The Joint Commission on Health Care shall report on its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committees on Health and Human Services and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations by December 1, 2026.