HB 736 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Health insurance; required provisions regarding prior authorization for prescription drugs.

Summary
Health insurance; carrier contracts; required provisions regarding prior authorization for prescription drugs. Amends existing required provisions for health carrier contracts related to prior authorizations for prescription drugs. Current law requires that if prior authorization is approved for prescription drugs and such prescription drugs have been scheduled, provided, or delivered to the patient consistent with the authorization, health carriers may not revoke, limit, condition, modify, or restrict that authorization except in certain circumstances. The bill requires this limitation on carriers to apply for the duration of the authorization, which the bill requires to be a minimum of six months for initial authorizations and a minimum of 12 months for continued authorizations. The bill adds circumstances under which a prior authorization may be revoked, limited, conditioned, modified, or restricted by a carrier, including (i) a final action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, other regulatory agencies, or the manufacturer communicating a patient efficacy issue that would affect the authorization and (ii) when additional safety and efficacy monitoring is clinically appropriate or recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, other regulatory agencies, or the manufacturer.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
This bill transitions HB 736 from a pending legislative draft to an official law (Chaptered), preserving the text of the original bill. The substantive policy content remains unchanged, focusing on stricter prior authorization rules for health insurance carriers. Key requirements include 24-hour response times for urgent requests, a ban on revoking approved authorizations for six to twelve months, and new mandates for online interoperability between doctors and insurers starting July 1, 2025.
TECHNICAL

The document status changed from 'Enrolled' (pending signature) to 'Chaptered' (official law), adding the chapter number (213) and the specific approval date (April 6, 2026).

Formatting was adjusted to align with the official 'Virginia Acts of Assembly' style, including changes to line breaks, indentation, and the removal of bracketed bill numbers like [H 736] in the final text.

Minor punctuation and spacing adjustments were made throughout the text, such as changing '§ 38.2-3407.15:2' to '§ 38.2-3407.15:2' and standardizing the spacing around colons and periods.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

380
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 39
Mar 4, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
18 Yea 1
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
31
Key actions
13
Committee
9
Amendments
2
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 213 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB736ER)
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Commerce and Labor (13-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Introduced
Engrossed by House as amended
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
committee amendments agreed to
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Assigned HAPP sub: Compensation and Retirement
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Labor and Commerce with amendment(s) and referred to Appropriations (22-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) and referring to Appropriations (9-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #1
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors