At its spring meeting, the Joint Commission on Health Care approved two additions to its 2025 work plan and adopted an electronic participation policy required by the Code of Virginia.

The changes matter because they add narrowly scoped, staff‑led studies focused on Medicaid policy and legislative oversight during a period of active changes to Medicaid financing and program responsibilities that affect the commission’s workload.

Executive staff told commissioners the commission received a new duty in the 2025 session to assess proposed mandated health‑insurance benefits transferred from JLARC; the Appropriations Act included one additional staff position to carry that work. The executive subcommittee recommended two targeted studies for addition to the work plan: a study of implementing a Medicaid in‑lieu‑of‑service food and nutrition benefit with focus populations specified by legislators (pregnant and postpartum women and people with diabetes), and a study of strategies for legislative oversight of Medicaid spending, analyzing options other states use and how an oversight structure could be implemented in Virginia.

Sarah, the commission’s executive director, explained both studies are targeted (narrow in scope) to fit available staff time and would include implementation considerations should the commission recommend adopting either structure. The commission approved the executive subcommittee’s recommendations by motion; the motion carried without a recorded roll‑call in the internal record.

Separately, staff reviewed the commission’s virtual meeting policy required by law. The Code of Virginia allows public bodies to permit remote participation in certain cases and limits virtual meetings to no more than two meetings or 25 percent of meetings per year (and prohibits consecutive virtual meetings). The commission’s policy permits members to participate electronically for three reasons: a temporary or permanent disability or medical condition; needing to care for a family member with a medical condition; or a personal matter preventing physical attendance. The policy does not include the fourth statutory reason (a member’s primary residence being 60 miles from the meeting location) and prohibits remote members from making motions or voting while participating electronically.

Members adopted the virtual participation policy by voice vote. Sarah noted meeting dates for the rest of 2025 and reminded members that the commission will not meet in August or November; new targeted studies will be briefed in December and staff will seek to prepare any legislative requests that must be filed earlier in accordance with deadlines.