Jan. 16 Update: SB 838 was not presented this morning as scheduled. It was re-referred to the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services. I will provide another update once the bill is placed on that committee’s docket.

Senate Bill 838 — the one I covered earlier this month that 1) mandates state certification of all Virginia recovery homes and 2) convenes a workgroup under the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to revamp the certification process — has been placed on tomorrow’s Senate Education and Health Committee docket.

The committee meets at 8:30 a.m. in Senate Room A, Room 305 of the General Assembly Building.

To view the hearing remotely: Visit the Virginia Senate Live Session Video Stream website.

To provide a written comment to the committee: Email it with the bill number (SB838) to committeeoperations@senate.virginia.gov. (These comments are not posted publicly.)

If your representative serves on the committee, it might also be worth making contact directly. 

To find out who represents you, visit the state’s Who’s My Legislator? service.

To testify remotely: Visit the Virginia Senate Live Session Video Stream website and follow the instructions in the yellow box at the top of the page. You will be able to sign up 30 minutes before the committee meeting starts.

To testify in person: Just show up. As explained by the director of committee operations:

After the patron presents the bill the Chair will typically ask the committee members if they have any questions of the patron. Then the Chair will typically ask if there is anyone in the audience who wishes to speak in favor of the bill or against the bill.  At that time, anyone in the room who wishes to speak should stand and walk towards the podium.

As with any bill, SB838 likely will undergo a series of amendments as it moves through the legislative process.

If you have mixed support for the bill — if you support the workgroup but oppose immediate mandatory certification, for example — be sure to make that clear in your comment. And if you leave a written comment, don’t forget to include the bill number (SB838). 

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Another bill introduced by state Delegate Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax County, would create a path for “certain” recovery residences to receive Medicaid reimbursements.

As summarized, House Bill 1893:

Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for payment of care provided at certain recovery residences for individuals diagnosed with a substance use disorder. The bill also directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to (i) convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to (a) establish a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness and impact of recovery residences on long-term recovery outcomes and (b) study the economic impact of recovery residences on the Commonwealth and (ii) in consultation with such work group, promulgate regulations to ensure recovery residences are operating in compliance with American Society of Addiction Medicine standards. The bill directs the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2025.

HB1893 will be presented tomorrow before the House Subcommittee on Behavioral Health. The subcommittee meets at 7:30 a.m. in House Committee Room C-206 of the General Assembly Building. Information on how to participate can be found here.

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Scroll below to view investigative stories in The Parham Papers series, or visit the homepage to explore all articles, including legislative updates.

Starfish Recovery owners leave multi-year trail of denial, deflection and threats

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‘He’s in his own harem’: Inside the taxpayer-funded sober home of a Virginia senator’s brother

‘We kind of created a monster’: How the sober home industry infiltrated Henrico courts

Journey House: What’s beneath the ‘Foundation’

‘All Virginians’ still come second to insider benefits

He loved the women’s house ‘for all the wrong reasons’: Former female residents describe Starfish Recovery & Wellness under Frank Bellanger’s control

New VARR audit confirms undisclosed conflicts of interest, finds other deficiencies

Degraded, silenced, exiled: The quiet casualties of Starfish Recovery & Wellness

Starfish Recovery, River City and Medicaid: How sober home residents become outpatient hostages

Relapse, secrecy, and weak oversight shadow Richmond recovery leaders

VARR secures millions; VARR leaders among top beneficiaries

The Medicaid cash cow

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