Health Insurance Tobacco Surcharge Eliminated
Summary
Virginia HB220 eliminates the authority of health carriers to vary premium rates based on tobacco use, removing the previous 1.5x surcharge cap for tobacco users. The bill applies to individual and small group health benefit plans entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. The legislation passed with broad bipartisan support (81-16 in House, 40-0 in Senate) and takes effect July 1, 2026.
What changed
Virginia HB220 removes the authority of health carriers to charge premium rates up to 1.5 times higher for tobacco users compared to non-users. The bill directly affects how health insurers in Virginia can price individual and small group health benefit plans. Under current law, carriers had explicit statutory authority to impose tobacco surcharges; this legislation eliminates that pricing mechanism entirely.
Health carriers operating in Virginia's individual and small group markets must remove tobacco surcharges from their premium rate structures for any plans entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. Carriers should review existing plan documents and rating methodologies to ensure compliance before the applicability deadline. While no specific penalties are stated in the bill text, carriers that continue applying tobacco surcharges to affected plans after January 1, 2027 would be in violation of Virginia insurance law.
What to do next
- Review and update premium rate structures to eliminate tobacco use surcharges
- Update plan documents, rating methodologies, and communications for plans effective January 1, 2027 or later
- Confirm IT and billing systems can process uniform premium rates without tobacco-based distinctions
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / Virginia / HB220 Enacted HB220 House Bill Enacted 2026-03-31
Health insurance; tobacco surcharge.
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.
Bill Details
State Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Regular Session
Chamber House
Official Source lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB220
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Patrick Hope (Rep - D) Nadarius Clark (Rep - D) Elizabeth Guzman (Rep - D) Michelle Maldonado (Rep - D) Marty Martinez (Rep - D) Charlie Schmidt (Rep - D) Irene Shin (Rep - D)
Action History
2026-03-31 Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0034) 2026-03-31 Approved by Governor-Chapter 34 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-03-10 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 2026-03-10 H Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 2026-03-05 H Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB220) 2026-03-03 S Signed by President 2026-03-03 H Signed by Speaker 2026-03-03 H Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB220ER) 2026-03-03 H Enrolled 2026-02-26 S Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-26 S Read third time 2026-02-25 S Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) 2026-02-25 S Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-25 S Rules suspended 2026-02-23 S Reported from Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N) 2026-02-08 H Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB220) 2026-01-29 S Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor 2026-01-29 S Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) 2026-01-28 H Read third time and passed House (81-Y 16-N 0-A) 2026-01-27 H Read second time and engrossed 2026-01-26 H Read first time 2026-01-22 H Reported from Labor and Commerce (21-Y 1-N) 2026-01-20 H Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N) 2026-01-15 H Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #1 2026-01-08 H Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce 2026-01-08 H Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101268D
Votes
2026-01-20 Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N) Yea: 9 Nay: 0 2026-01-22 Reported from Labor and Commerce (21-Y 1-N) Yea: 21 Nay: 1 2026-01-28 Read third time and passed House (81-Y 16-N 0-A) Yea: 81 Nay: 16 2026-02-23 Reported from Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N) Yea: 14 Nay: 0 2026-02-25 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 40 Nay: 0 2026-02-26 Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 40 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-01-08 H Labor and Commerce 2026-01-15 H Labor and Commerce: Subcommittee #1 2026-01-29 S Commerce and Labor
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-08 Introduced 2026-03-03 Enrolled 2026-03-31 Chaptered Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
Named provisions
Related changes
Source
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get Government General alerts
Weekly digest. AI-summarized, no noise.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when Virginia Legislative Events publishes new changes.