Subcommittee pauses Delegate Clark’s universal child-health bill, requests study of 9,000 uninsured children

At the Social Services Subcommittee’s first 2026 meeting, Delegate Dahlia Clark presented HB 280, a proposal to provide universal, free-at-point-of-use health coverage for children in Virginia.

"This proposal is simple but a powerful idea: universal access to health care for children, free at the point of use across our state," Clark told the committee, arguing the bill would build on existing programs and reduce downstream costs by emphasizing preventive pediatric care.

The bill attracted support from clinicians and advocates. Mackenzie Huff, a pediatric resident at VCU speaking for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said, "In Virginia, there are 9,000 infants, children, and adolescents without health care coverage," a figure committee members clarified applies through age 19. Buren Coxfield, government relations manager at 4Kids, described operational gaps for homeless and low-income children and urged lawmakers to prioritize care: "London didn't ask the question, does my child have insurance?... The number one thing that they thought about was this kid is sick, and we need to make them better."

Supporters framed the measure as both a moral and fiscal investment: Clark cited state and international models and said universal coverage can lower long-term costs by reducing emergency visits and unmanaged chronic illness. Opponents or skeptical members raised practical questions about expense, workforce capacity and how the proposal would differ from existing Medicaid and CHIP eligibility.

Instead of voting on the bill, a committee member moved to "gently lay" HB 280 on the table and asked that the chair of the Health and Human Services committee send a letter to the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to study the roughly 9,000 uninsured children and return with more detailed options. The motion was seconded and called for a roll call, but the electronic voting system experienced technical difficulties and the transcript does not record a final tally.

The committee left open further action pending the requested study and any additional information about provider capacity, reimbursement rates and cost estimates to implement broader coverage.

The subcommittee did not take final action on HB 280 at this meeting; members asked sponsors to gather more data and asked DMAS to provide analysis if the HHS chair agrees to the study request.