# Virginia HB220: Health insurance; tobacco surcharge.

Virginia HB220, Health insurance; tobacco surcharge., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Patrick A. Hope (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-03-31 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0034)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB220-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB220
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Health insurance; tobacco surcharge.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-03-31, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0034)
- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (205 yes, 17 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## 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. This bill is identical to SB 630.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- No tobacco surcharges for Virginia health plans: benefit, low. Virginia health insurers cannot charge extra for tobacco use in individual or small-group health plans. This applies to plans entered into, changed, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. Other factors allowed by law can still affect premiums.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Reported from Commerce and Labor | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 81 | 16 |   |
| 2026-01-22 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce | pass | 21 | 1 |   |
| 2026-01-20 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 9 | 0 |   |

## Actions (26)

- 2026-03-31: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0034) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Approved by Governor-Chapter 34 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB220) (House)
- 2026-03-03: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB220ER) (House)
- 2026-03-03: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-03: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-26: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Reported from Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-08: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB220) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor (Senate)
- 2026-01-29: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Read third time and passed House (81-Y 16-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-01-26: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-22: Reported from Labor and Commerce (21-Y 1-N) (House)
- 2026-01-20: Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-15: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #1 (House)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101268D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-03-31: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214928.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214927.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187000.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186999.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083146.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083145.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214928.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214927.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187000.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186999.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083146.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083145.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB220-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).