An Act to direct the State Health Services Plan Task Force to develop recommendations for designating areas of the state with identifiable need for certain projects and expedited review criteria for those projects and to direct the Board of Health to update regulations implementing expedited application and review.
HB1337 directs the State Health Commissioner to have the State Health Services Plan Task Force study and recommend how Virginia should identify areas of the state with an identifiable need for additional health care projects, and how expedited review should be applied to projects in those areas. In making those recommendations, the Task Force must consider barriers to access such as geography, socioeconomic conditions, culture, transportation, and other factors affecting health care access. The Commissioner must report the recommendations to the Senate Committee on Education and Health by October 1, 2026.
The bill also requires the Board of Health to adopt updated regulations by January 1, 2027, to implement an expedited application and review process for certain certificate-of-public-need projects under § 32.1-102.2(A)(5). Those regulations must include the criteria and considerations the Commissioner will use when deciding whether to approve or deny an expedited application. In effect, the bill creates a framework for faster review of qualifying health care projects in areas deemed to have unmet need.
HB1337 affects Virginia’s certificate-of-public-need regulatory process by directing both policy development and rulemaking for expedited review of certain health care projects. It does not itself create the expedited criteria, but it requires the Task Force and Board of Health to establish the standards and procedures that will govern how projects in designated areas are evaluated. The bill therefore influences future administrative regulations, health planning decisions, and the approval process for health care facilities or projects subject to COPN review.
The available record suggests the bill was enacted without recorded committee debate or vote detail in the provided materials, so there is no documented opposition or amendment activity to gauge. The overall posture of the bill appears policy-oriented and administrative, aimed at improving access to care by streamlining review for projects in underserved areas. Its enactment indicates general legislative support for exploring expedited pathways where health care access barriers exist.
The main policy issue underlying HB1337 is how to define areas with an identifiable need and what criteria should justify expedited review. Potential points of contention include whether expedited treatment could weaken the normal certificate-of-public-need review process, how broadly underserved areas should be defined, and how to balance access goals against existing regulatory controls. Stakeholders most likely to care about these questions include health care providers, hospital systems, community advocates, and regulators responsible for COPN oversight.