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HB813 • 2026

Health insurance; application of cost-sharing prohibitions.

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 38.2-3407.20 and 38.2-3418.7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to health insurance; application of cost-sharing prohibitions.

Healthcare Taxes
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Sullivan
Last action
2026-04-06
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on the specific coverage of preventive care services before meeting a deductible, which was mentioned in the candidate explanation.

Health Insurance Rules for Cost-Sharing

This act changes Virginia's health insurance laws to ensure that prohibitions on cost-sharing requirements apply only when a patient receives care from a participating provider and do not affect high-deductible plans' eligibility for Health Savings Accounts.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the rules about when health insurance companies can't charge patients extra money (cost-sharing) for getting healthcare services.
  • Requires that these prohibitions on cost-sharing apply only if the patient gets care from a provider who is part of their plan's network.
  • Makes sure that high-deductible health plans can still qualify for Health Savings Accounts, even if they have certain cost-sharing rules.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Health insurance companies in Virginia
  • Patients enrolled in health insurance plans in Virginia

Terms To Know

Cost-Sharing Requirement
This is when a patient has to pay part of the cost for healthcare services, like coinsurance or copayments.
Health Savings Account (HSA)
A special savings account that can be used to pay for medical expenses tax-free. It's often paired with high-deductible health plans.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act does not specify what happens if the federal law changes regarding Health Savings Accounts.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect patients' out-of-pocket costs in practice.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 224 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 224 (effective 7/1/2026)

  3. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0224)

  4. 2026-03-24 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB813)

  5. 2026-03-10 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026

  6. 2026-03-10 Governor

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

  7. 2026-03-03 House

    Signed by Speaker

  8. 2026-03-03 Senate

    Signed by President

  9. 2026-03-03 House

    Enrolled

  10. 2026-03-03 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB813ER)

  11. 2026-02-26 Senate

    Read third time

  12. 2026-02-26 Senate

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

  13. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Rules suspended

  14. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  15. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  16. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  17. 2026-02-23 Commerce and Labor

    Reported from Commerce and Labor (15-Y 0-N)

  18. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  19. 2026-02-12 Commerce and Labor

    Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

  20. 2026-02-11 House

    Read third time and passed House Block Vote (96-Y 0-N 0-A)

  21. 2026-02-11 House

    Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House

  22. 2026-02-11 House

    Passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A)

  23. 2026-02-10 House

    Read second time and engrossed

  24. 2026-02-09 House

    Read first time

  25. 2026-02-05 Labor and Commerce

    Reported from Labor and Commerce (22-Y 0-N)

  26. 2026-02-03 Subcommittee #1

    Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N)

  27. 2026-01-22 Subcommittee #1

    Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #1

  28. 2026-01-13 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101401D

  29. 2026-01-13 Labor and Commerce

    Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce

Official Summary Text

Health insurance; application of cost-sharing prohibitions.
Provides that provisions of state law that prohibit a health insurance carrier from imposing a cost-sharing requirement on an enrollee for receiving a health care service (i) apply only when such enrollee receives such health care service from a participating provider under the health benefit plan and (ii) do not apply if the application of such prohibition would disqualify a high-deductible health benefit plan from eligibility for a health savings account under federal law.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
An Act to amend and reenact §§
38.2-3407.20
and
38.2-3418.7
of the Code of Virginia, relating to health insurance; application of cost-sharing prohibitions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§
38.2-3407.20
and
38.2-3418.7
of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§
38.2-3407.20
. Cost-sharing requirements; application of prohibition; calculation of enrollee's contribution.
A. As used in this section:
"Carrier" shall have the meaning set forth in §
38.2-3407.10
; however, "carrier" also includes any person required to be licensed under this title that offers or operates a managed care health insurance plan subject to Chapter 58 (§
38.2-5800
et seq.) or that provides or arranges for the provision of health care services, health plans, networks, or provider panels that are subject to regulation as the business of insurance under this title.
"Cost sharing"
"Cost-sharing requirement"
means
any
an enrollee's
coinsurance, copayment, or deductible.
"Enrollee" means any person entitled to health care services from a carrier.
"Health care services" means items or services furnished to any individual for the purpose of preventing, alleviating, curing, or healing human illness, injury, or physical disability.
"Health plan" means any individual or group health care plan, subscription contract, evidence of coverage, certificate, health services plan, medical or hospital services plan, accident and sickness insurance policy or certificate, managed care health insurance plan, or other similar certificate, policy, contract, or arrangement, and any endorsement or rider thereto, to cover all or a portion of the cost of persons receiving covered health care services, that is subject to state regulation and that is required to be offered, arranged, or issued in the Commonwealth by a carrier licensed under this title. "Health plan" does not mean (i) coverages issued pursuant to Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395 et seq. (Medicare), Title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq. (Medicaid) or Title XXI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1397aa et seq. (CHIP), 5 U.S.C. § 8901 et seq. (federal employees), or 10 U.S.C. § 1071 et seq. (TRICARE); or (ii) accident only, credit or disability insurance, long-term care insurance, TRICARE supplement, Medicare supplement, or workers' compensation coverages.
B.
Any provision of this chapter that prohibits a carrier from imposing a cost-sharing requirement on an enrollee for receiving a health care service shall apply only when such enrollee receives such health care service from a participating provider under the health plan.
C.
To the extent permitted by federal law and regulation and except as provided in subsection
C
D
, when calculating an enrollee's overall contribution to any out-of-pocket maximum or any cost-sharing requirement under a health plan, a carrier shall include any amounts paid by the enrollee or paid on behalf of the enrollee by another person.
C.
D.
If the application of
any provision described in subsection B or
the provisions of subsection
B
C
would
result in
disqualify
a
high deductible
health
plan's ineligibility to qualify as a Health Savings Account-qualified High Deductible Health Plan under
plan from eligibility for a health savings account pursuant to
26 U.S.C. § 223, then
the prohibition on a cost-sharing requirement or
the requirements of subsection
B
C
shall not apply with respect to the deductible of such health plan until after the enrollee has satisfied the minimum deductible under 26 U.S.C § 223. However, with respect to items or services that are preventive care pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 223 (c)(2)(C),
any prohibition on a cost-sharing requirement and
the provisions of subsection
B
C
shall apply regardless of whether the minimum deductible under 26 U.S.C. § 223 has been satisfied.
D.
This section shall apply with respect to health plans that are entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2020.
E.
Pursuant to the authority granted by §
38.2-223
, the Commission may promulgate such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to implement this section.
§
38.2-3418.7
. Coverage for prostate cancer screening.
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of §
38.2-3419
, each insurer proposing to issue individual or group accident and sickness insurance policies providing hospital, medical and surgical, or major medical coverage on an expense-incurred basis; each corporation providing individual or group accident and sickness subscription contracts; and each health maintenance organization providing a health care plan for health care services shall provide coverage to (i) persons age 50 and over and (ii) persons age 40 and over who are at high risk for prostate cancer, according to the most recent published guidelines of the American Cancer Society, for prostate cancer screening under any such policy, contract, or plan delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the Commonwealth on and after July 1, 1998.
B. For the purpose of this section, "prostate cancer screening" includes one prostate-specific antigen test in a 12-month period and digital rectal examinations.
C. No insurer, corporation, or health maintenance organization shall impose on any person receiving benefits pursuant to this section any
deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or other
cost-sharing requirement,
except to the extent that coverage without cost-sharing would disqualify a high-deductible health benefit plan from eligibility for a health savings account pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 223
as defined in §
38.2-3407.20
.
D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to (i) short-term travel, accident only, limited or specified disease policies other than cancer policies, (ii) short-term nonrenewable policies of not more than six months' duration, or (iii) policies or contracts designed for issuance to persons eligible for coverage under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, known as Medicare, or any other similar coverage under state or federal governmental plans.