Kaine pitches reforms for drug pricing program supporting underserved patients, safety net providers • Virginia Mercury

Known as 340B, the program has helped Virginia hospitals and clinics and others nationwide care for underserved patients by requiring pharmaceutical companies offer prescription discounts to qualifyin...

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Va. hospitals predict $31B reduction in state’s Medicaid funding if proposed CMS rule passes  • Virginia Mercury

A proposed federal rule stemming from the reconciliation bill Congress passed last summer includes additional policy changes that hospital chains warn go further than what Congress approved and Presid...

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Late on rent? New Virginia law gives tenants more time and protection from eviction  • Virginia Mercury

Under previous Virginia law, tenants had five days to pay overdue rent before landlords could begin eviction proceedings.  A new law, House Bill 15, by Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, extends that gra...

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Virginia’s reproductive rights amendment faces legal challenges over procedural step, language • Virginia Mercury

At the center of Bansley v. Nardo is an argument that the clerk of the House of Delegates, Paul Nardo, failed to send copies of the amendment to circuit court clerks across the state — a longtime requ...

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Efforts to reform federal drug pricing program 340B continue with new report, proposed CMS rule • Virginia Mercury

The federal drug pricing program 340B helps hospitals and clinics in Virginia and across the nation care for underserved patients by requiring pharmaceutical companies to offer prescription discounts ...

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Virginia’s reproductive rights amendment faces legal challenges over procedural step, language • Virginia Mercury

At the center of Bansley v. Nardo is an argument that the clerk of the House of Delegates, Paul Nardo, failed to send copies of the amendment to circuit court clerks across the state — a longtime requ...

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Lacking Trump’s signature, a major congressional housing bill with Va. roots still has a path to law • Virginia Mercury

Virginia U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat who carried provisions of the housing bill, emphasized that potential path forward on Thursday despite what he called Trump’s “temper tantrum.”

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Civil rights group files motion to speed up Va.’s reform of voter registration process for ex-felons • Virginia Mercury

As thousands of Virginians with certain past felony convictions remain in a voting registration limbo, civil rights groups filed a motion on June 18 seeking an expedited remedy.The groups accused elec...

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Virginia legislators advance $205 billion budget including new tax on data centers • Virginia Mercury

Energy consumption tax will reap $1.2 for the state over the biennium

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Spanberger joins governors in Reproductive Freedom Alliance, signs related Va. bills into law • Virginia Mercury

From support for legislation and ballot referendums to helping states stockpile  abortion and miscarriage management drug mifepristone, a growing cohort of governors are banding together as the Reprod...

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The House and Senate both released new budgets. Here’s how they align and diverge. • Virginia Mercury

Lawmakers present different ideas on how the state should fund key priorities in healthcare and education, while data centers’ tax exemption remains a sticking point.

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Congress nears major bipartisan housing bill with support from Virginia lawmakers • Virginia Mercury

“In a day and age where we all have, rightfully, a lot of cynicism about Congress and its ability to act, this seems like a bipartisan action on an issue that needs action,” VanValkenburg said.

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Virginia measles cases surge past 70, concentrated in Central Virginia  • Virginia Mercury

The bulk of the cases are babies and children younger than 12, aligning with how some parents were more likely to follow anti-vaccine trends that emerged in the earlier 2000s and have resurfaced more ...

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Pregnant asylum seeker who was detained at Dulles will return to Ghana • Virginia Mercury

After 10 days spent detained at Dulles International Airport, Ghanaian asylum seeker Anabella Gyasi and her son will go back to her home country. A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern D...

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Pregnant asylum seeker detained, held with son at Dulles airport for the past week • Virginia Mercury

Emergency hearing set for Alexandria federal court on May 29.

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Spanberger vetoes Prescription Drug Affordability Board proposal  • Virginia Mercury

A five-year effort to curb drug prices through a Prescription Drug Affordability Board just faced its third veto between two governors, as Abigail Spanberger formally rejected the measure Tuesday.  Th...

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How a 19th century law, central to a national telehealth abortion case, could impact Virginia • Virginia Mercury

Abortion opponents have long considered that law, dubbed the Comstock Act, as a possible vehicle to enact a national ban of the procedure.

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These Black maternal health groups laid groundwork for perinatal grants, then they were left out • Virginia Mercury

The work they helped lead has garnered state dollars, legislative support and public praise, but their community-rooted organizations weren’t selected to reap any of the funds.

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Cerina and Justin Fairfax tragedy underscores new Va. laws that could help prevent similar violence • Virginia Mercury

Two years before Dr. Cerina Fairfax was shot and killed by her husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, she had tried to leave him. Six years before police say he fatally shot his wife and hi...

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Health care fight intensifies as Congress weighs GOP-backed insurance changes • Virginia Mercury

Congressional Republicans say they are taking steps on health care — but Democrats counter that previous efforts are already costing Virginians coverage and putting hospitals under strain. Republicans...

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Spanberger acts on immigration bills, seeks changes to ICE-related measures • Virginia Mercury

Gov. Abigail Spanberger this week signed several immigration-related bills into law and proposed changes to others, clarifying how Virginia agencies can work with federal immigration authorities and s...

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‘We have to do something’: Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder supports Virginia redistricting • Virginia Mercury

“It's a temporary measure for an extraordinary moment,” he said of Virginia’s proposal to redraw its map.

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Virginia sees 33,000 ACA enrollment drop since subsidies expired, more likely on the way • Virginia Mercury

As Virginians, and Americans nationwide, face premium spikes in the Affordable Care Act marketplace after Congress failed to renew subsidies, many are weighing the cost of coverage against paying rent...

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Here’s how Va. lawmakers suggest the next state budget handle federal health care funding fallout • Virginia Mercury

More than 2 million Virginians rely on state social services like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, while about 400,000 Virginians get their health insurance through the stat...

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Housing bills to boost supply, protect tenants on way to Spanberger’s desk • Virginia Mercury

Addressing housing affordability and stock issues was a Spanberger campaign promise as Democrats made gains in state government last year.

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After five years of attempts, Virginia on track to set up a Prescription Drug Affordability Board • Virginia Mercury

The bills will establish an advisory panel to examine data and ensure that federal drug pricing caps are applied to state-regulated health insurance plans if signed into law.

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Lawsuit claims violation of constitutional amendment process, but new law may invalidate that charge • Virginia Mercury

At the core of a new Bedford County-based lawsuit challenging Virginia's pending reproductive rights amendment is an allegation that House of Delegates Clerk Paul Nardo failed to send copies of the am...

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Bedford County supervisor files suit challenging reproductive rights constitutional amendment • Virginia Mercury

Lawsuit claims abortion ballot initiative is invalid because Virginia’s House of Delegates did not distribute it to all circuit court clerks and post it for public inspection three months prior to the...

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Bill mandating ingredient labels on menstrual products headed to Spanberger • Virginia Mercury

While some companies label ingredients used to make menstrual health products like tampons or pads, many disclose little about the chemicals their products contain.

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