During the 1976 session of the General Assembly, legislation was introduced that would require that every health insurance policy issued in the Commonwealth of Virginia provide coverage for home health care. Proponents of the legislation argued that mandating this coverage was desirable because it would encourage medical treatment in environments that were less costly than a hospital, thus contributing to efforts to control and reduce soaring health care costs.

In response to a request by the legislature for its opinion as to the desirability of mandating home health care coverage, the Bureau of Insurance testified that it had reservations about passage of the law prior to an analysis of the probable major effects of the legislation in all areas of the insurance and health care fields.

The Bureau pointed out that several other states have enacted similar legislation and the experience in these states had not been examined nor had alternatives been explored which might result in achieving similar cost savings. The Bureau recommended a more careful and thorough weighing of the costs and benefits of the proposal prior to its passage.

As a result of this testimony, the General Assembly deferred action on the proposed law and the Bureau of Insurance agreed to study the probable impact of mandated home health care coverage and report its findings to the legislature.