Virginia House committee advances bill expanding healthcare access

A bill aimed at expanding healthcare access in underserved areas unanimously passed a key House of Delegates committee earlier Thursday.  

HB 2119, proposed by Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, established an expedited application process for Certificates of Public Need for projects that will serve medical deserts. 

According to the Medical Society of Virginia, a certificate of public need required health care providers to seek approval from “a regulatory body to prove that a community needs the services the facility would deliver.” 

“We’ve heard of deserts. I didn’t realize Virginia had a medical desert quite so severe as it is:” Walker said to the subcommittee on health on Tuesday. 

Walker emphasized that the bill would expedite the approval process for projects in areas that lack physicians, hospitals and where poverty levels are high. It will also remove the burden from the localities and establish a local review process, Walker said. 

The Medical Society of Virginia, Virginia Orthopedic Society and Americans for Prosperity spoke in support of HB2119. 

Julie Dime, the vice president of government affairs for the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, testified in front of the subcommittee.

“In our rural areas, unfortunately, there is not a competition for those who cannot pay,” Dime said. “It would be nice to see more physicians and more products and services being offered to those in rural areas.”

The bill will also require the state health commissioner to issue a final determination for the application no later than 120 days after the request is received.  

The Committee of Health and Human Services recommended reporting with a substitute and is currently awaiting a vote in the full House.