Beginning in July 2025, all hospitals in Virginia that have an emergency room will be required to have a physician on staff full-time, as opposed to just being on call.
Del. Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) and state senator Stella G. Pekarsky (D-Fairfax) introduced two similar bills that proposed the staffing requirement. The bills easily passed out of the General Assembly and were signed into law by Governor Glenn Youngkin (R).
On February 20, Hope stated during the Senate bill’s presentation to the House of Delegates, “The bill just requires that there be a treating physician on site for all emergency rooms.”
Hospitals with emergency rooms are required by state law to have a qualified physician on call at all times, albeit they do not have to be on the property.
The plan has drawn the attention of Del. Wren Williams (R-Patrick), who expressed concerns about its potential effects on understaffed hospitals in rural areas such as the one he represents.
Hope was challenged by Williams if she had considered the “unintended consequences” that this would have for rural hospitals.
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Hope explained that this is the reason the measure was introduced with a July 2025 delayed effective date. This, he claimed, would guarantee that all hospitals could adjust to the new regulation.
“I know this bill comes from good intentions,” Williams retorted. “I mean, who wouldn’t want a doctor in the ER at all times?”
There is just one practicing physician in Patrick County, and he also makes rounds at the emergency room and nursing home, according to an emotional Williams during his House floor statement on February 20.
“In my district, we have one emergency room,” Williams choked. “Over 1,500 square miles. And I’m afraid that one might close, too.”
According to the fiscal impact assessment that goes with the measure, it is impossible to estimate the full financial impact the law would have on the Virginia Department of Health.
“VDH does not have readily available data to estimate the potential volume of complaints that may be generated from this legislative change and cannot estimate whether it can be absorbed with existing resources,” as per the fiscal impact statement. “If the provisions of the bill lead to an appreciable increase in complaints against hospitals, VDH may need additional Health Care Compliance Specialists II to handle complaint intake and investigation; this would increase personnel, travel, and lodging costs for the agency.”
According to the statement, the expected expenses of amending regulations are less than $5,000, and they may be “absorbed with existing resources.”
