HB 220 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Health insurance; tobacco surcharge.

Summary

Health insurance; tobacco surcharge. Eliminates the authority of a health carrier to vary its premium rates based on tobacco use. Under current law, a health carrier may charge premium rates up to 1.5 times higher for a tobacco user than for a nonuser. The provisions of the bill apply to health benefit plans providing individual or small group health insurance coverage entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 8, 2026 Signed Mar 31, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled → Chaptered · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill has been formally enacted and assigned to Chapter 34 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive policy text regarding health insurance premium rates, tobacco surcharges, and reporting requirements remains identical to the previous version, with no changes to the rules or thresholds.

TECHNICAL

The document format changed from a draft bill to an official chaptered act, including the addition of the approval date (March 31, 2026) and chapter number.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 25, 2026 · House of Delegates Jan 28, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Feb 25, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 31, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 34 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB220ER)

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N)

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (81-Y 16-N 0-A)

lower

Jan 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Labor and Commerce (21-Y 1-N)

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 15, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #1

lower

Jan 8, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce

lower

1 primary · 5 co-sponsors