HB 2738 Virginia House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Health insurance; coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Summary
Health insurance; coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorders; generally accepted standards of care. Requires health insurance coverage, as defined in the bill, to provide coverage for mental health and substance use disorder benefits for children, adolescents, and adults and requires such coverage to apply the definitions of "generally accepted standards of mental health or substance use disorder care" and "medically necessary" provided in the bill for any determination of medical necessity, prior authorization, or utilization review under such coverage.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Mar 2025
Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Signed Mar 21, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Labor and Commerce Substitute Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
This bill converts a House substitute version of HB 2738 into a chaptered (enacted) version, making the mental health and substance abuse coverage requirements official law. The substantive content remains largely the same, with minor formatting changes and one key addition to the definition of 'generally accepted standards of care' that now explicitly includes 'child and adolescent psychiatry' and 'adult psychiatry' as separate specialties.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains unchanged as it applies to group and individual health insurance coverage in Virginia for mental health and substance use disorder benefits.
DEFINITION

Added explicit mention of 'child and adolescent psychiatry' and 'adult psychiatry' as separate clinical specialties in the definition of generally accepted standards of care, ensuring both pediatric and adult mental health standards are recognized.

TECHNICAL

Converted the document from a House substitute amendment format to an official chaptered act format, including approval date and chapter number.

Adjusted line breaks and spacing throughout the text to conform to official legislative formatting standards.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 18, 2025 · House of Delegates Feb 4, 2025

How they voted

400
Passed
Total votes 40
Feb 18, 2025
D Democratic21
21 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
32
Key actions
11
Committee
5
Amendments
4
Mar 21, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 314 (Effective 07/01/25)
executive
Mar 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB2738ER)
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate Amendments agreed to by House (83-Y 15-N)
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with amendments (40-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Introduced
Engrossed by Senate as amended
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Commerce and Labor Amendments agreed to
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Introduced
Reading of amendments waived
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendments (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 5, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (79-Y 19-N)
lower
Jan 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (14-Y 8-N)
lower
Jan 23, 2025
Committee
Assigned L & C sub: Subcommittee #1
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Introduced
Presented and ordered printed 25104829D
lower
1 primary · 7 co-sponsors

Sponsors