The 2026 Virginia General Assembly regular session ended on March 14 without a finalized state budget. A special session will begin on April 23; until then, several important health care investments remain undecided, and your support can still make a difference.

What's Likely in the Budget

Both the House and Senate budget proposals included the following items, making them strong candidates for the final budget:

• Funding for a new VCU School of Dentistry building
• $10 million in additional funding for the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (VAFCC) over the biennium
• Restored FAMIS prenatal and postpartum coverage for immigrant populations
• Various affordable housing programs
• Proposals to address the loss of enhanced ACA marketplace insurance subsidies (the House and Senate approaches will need to be reconciled)

We're Still Advocating for the Following

These priorities are not yet secured, and Catalyst continues to advocate for their inclusion in the final budget:

• Removing the Medicaid adult dental benefit cap, currently capped at $2,000/year, this limit can prevent Virginians from getting the care they need
• $1 million Dental Hygienist Funding Pool
• $30 million for career technical education and workforce development (including oral health workforce programs)
• $50 million in drinking water infrastructure investment

Bills That Passed This Session

Several bills Catalyst supported were approved by the General Assembly and now await Governor Spanberger's signature by mid-April, including:

• Governor's "Affordable Virginia Agenda" — equity-focused legislation addressing health care costs, energy costs, and housing affordability
• SB 278 — Protecting the federal 340-B drug pricing program in Virginia
• SB 596/HB 6 — Establishing the right to obtain contraception
• SB 2/HB 1207 — Creating a paid family and medical leave insurance program
• HB 5 — Establishing paid sick leave protections

Take Action Now

The special session is our opportunity to finish the job. Here's how you can help. Tell your legislators to remove the Medicaid adult dental benefit cap.

Support the Dental Hygienist Funding Pool, a $1 million investment in Virginia's oral health workforce.

Please reach out to Senior Policy Manager, Lauren Eggleton, at leggleton@vahealthcatalyst.org with any questions or for more information about Catalyst's policy priorities.

Mark your calendar, the 2026 Catalyst Annual Summit is coming together! This year's theme is Advancing Whole-Person Health Together: Expanding Access. Sustaining Impact. Building Capacity. We will bring together community leaders, health professionals, advocates, policymakers, and students to explore how whole-person health is taking shape across Virginia, and what it will take to sustain progress.

Sessions will be grounded in access, impact, and capacity, and will highlight real-world examples, practical strategies, and cross-sector partnerships that strengthen communities and build a resilient workforce.

Programming begins at 9:00 AM (networking starts at 8:30 AM). More details, including speakers and registration information, will be shared soon.

Interested in Sponsoring the Summit?

Summit sponsors play a vital role in making this convening possible and demonstrating a shared commitment to advancing whole-person health in Virginia. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please email: communications@vahealthcatalyst.org

On April 23, 2026, from 7:00–8:00 PM ET, CareQuest Institute is hosting a webinar focused on how dental teams can move beyond one-way referrals and build closed-loop referral pathways that support true care coordination. Speakers will share practical strategies for tracking patient follow-through, reducing confusion about next steps, and communicating more effectively with external providers, even across separate EHR and EDR systems.

Attendees will leave with tools to differentiate between one-way and bi-directional referral systems, identify common barriers to care coordination in oral health settings, and apply evidence-based strategies to close gaps in the referral process.

This is a free, one-hour webinar, an opportunity for any provider or care team working to strengthen integrated, person-centered care.

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