A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.1-4319 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 38.2-3418.23, relating to health insurance; large group policies; coverage for scalp treatment during cancer chemotherapy treatment.
HB90 would require health insurers, health service plan corporations, and health maintenance organizations in Virginia’s large group market to cover scalp cooling systems used to preserve hair during cancer chemotherapy treatment. The bill creates a new insurance mandate in the Code of Virginia and specifies that the coverage may still be subject to deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments, so long as those cost-sharing terms are applied consistently with other benefits in the same plan.
The mandate would apply only to large group policies, contracts, and plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in Virginia on or after January 1, 2027. It would not apply to short-term travel, accident-only, limited or specified disease policies, Medicare-related coverage, individual or small group plans, or qualified health plans offered through the Affordable Care Act exchange. The bill also makes a conforming change to the insurance code’s HMO provisions so the new coverage requirement fits within existing statutory structure.
HB90 would add a new required benefit under Virginia insurance law for large group health coverage, expanding the list of mandated services insurers must cover for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. It would affect insurers, subscription contract providers, and HMOs operating in the large group market, while leaving individual, small group, exchange, Medicare, and certain limited policies outside the mandate. The bill would take effect for policies and renewals beginning January 1, 2027, and would amend existing statutory cross-references in Title 38.2 to incorporate the new section.
There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials, so the bill’s sentiment cannot be measured from debate or roll call data. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be a targeted health insurance benefit expansion intended to support cancer patients by improving access to scalp cooling treatment. The absence of recorded opposition or support in the supplied context leaves the overall political reception unclear.
The main policy issue is whether Virginia should require large group health plans to cover scalp cooling systems, which are generally associated with preserving hair during chemotherapy and may be viewed as a quality-of-life or supportive-care benefit rather than a core medical necessity. Potential points of contention include the added cost to employers and insurers, whether the benefit should be mandated in only the large group market, and whether exclusions for individual, small group, exchange, and Medicare-related coverage create uneven access. No specific legislators or stakeholder positions are provided in the record, so any opposition or support is not documented here.