Office-based buprenorphine treatment; counseling or referral requirements
Summary
Virginia enacted SB641 on April 6, 2026, directing the Board of Medicine to amend regulations for office-based buprenorphine treatment. The new law requires providers to offer counseling or referral to counseling to each patient as clinically necessary and mutually agreed-upon. Patients may refuse counseling without losing access to their opioid use disorder treatment.
What changed
Virginia SB641 requires the Board of Medicine to amend its office-based buprenorphine treatment regulations to mandate that providers offer counseling or referral to counseling to each patient. The legislation specifies that patient refusal of counseling does not prevent access to buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder.
Healthcare providers offering office-based buprenorphine treatment in Virginia must prepare to implement counseling offer requirements by the effective date. Practices should update intake procedures, provider training, and documentation systems to capture counseling offers and patient responses. The Board of Medicine will issue implementing regulations prior to the July 1, 2026 effective date.
What to do next
- Review current office-based buprenorphine treatment protocols and prepare to incorporate counseling referral requirements
- Ensure all buprenorphine providers are trained on new counseling offer requirements
- Monitor Virginia Board of Medicine regulatory updates for final implementation guidance
Archived snapshot
Apr 8, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
ChangeBridge / Virginia / SB641 Signed by Governor SB641 Senate Bill Signed by Governor 2026-04-06
Office-based buprenorphine treatment; Board of Medicine to amend regulations.
Board of Medicine; office-based buprenorphine treatment; counseling. Directs the Board of Medicine to amend its regulations regarding office-based buprenorphine treatment to require providers to offer counseling or referral to counseling to each patient as clinically necessary and mutually agreed-upon. The bill specifies that a patient's refusal of counseling does not preclude the patient from receiving office-based buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care and is identical to HB 712.
Bill Details
State Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Regular Session
Chamber Senate
Official Source lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB641
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Sponsors
Todd Pillion (Sen - R) Luther Cifers (Sen - R) Christie New Craig (Sen - R) Timmy French (Sen - R) Travis Hackworth (Sen - R) Ryan McDougle (Sen - R) Tammy Brankley Mulchi (Sen - R) Mark Obenshain (Sen - R) Mark Peake (Sen - R) Bryce Reeves (Sen - R) William Stanley (Sen - R) Richard Stuart (Sen - R) Glen Sturtevant (Sen - R)
Action History
2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 208 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 208 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-03-10 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 2026-03-10 S Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 2026-03-02 S Fiscal Impact statement From DPB (3/2/2026 2:20 pm) 2026-02-26 S Signed by President 2026-02-26 H Signed by Speaker 2026-02-26 S Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB641ER) 2026-02-26 S Enrolled 2026-02-24 H Passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-24 H Read third time 2026-02-23 H Read second time 2026-02-19 H Reported from Health and Human Services (21-Y 0-N) 2026-02-13 H Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services 2026-02-13 H Read first time 2026-02-13 H Placed on Calendar 2026-02-10 S Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-09 S Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) 2026-02-09 S Read second time 2026-02-06 S Passed by for the day 2026-02-06 S Passed by for the day (Voice Vote) 2026-02-06 S Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-06 S Rules suspended 2026-02-05 S Reported from Education and Health (14-Y 0-N) 2026-01-30 S Assigned Education sub: Health Professions 2026-01-21 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB641) 2026-01-14 S Referred to Committee on Education and Health 2026-01-14 S Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104754D
Votes
2026-02-05 Reported from Education and Health (14-Y 0-N) Yea: 14 Nay: 0 2026-02-06 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 39 Nay: 0 2026-02-10 Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 40 Nay: 0 2026-02-19 Reported from Health and Human Services (21-Y 0-N) Yea: 21 Nay: 0 2026-02-24 Passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 98 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-01-14 S Education and Health 2026-01-30 S Education: Health Professions 2026-02-13 H Health and Human Services
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-14 Introduced 2026-02-12 Comm Sub 2026-02-26 Enrolled Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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