The 2026 legislative session officially adjourned Saturday, March 14, 2026. However, they did not finish a budget on time and will return April 23rd to complete the budget. The good news is that we were able to kill the last-minute medmal bill in the final hours and have bought more time to work with stakeholders on other solutions. Many legislators expressed a strong desire to see the current law changed, but were not pleased with the process and the rushed nature of the bill the last week of session. While the bill increasing the cap to $6 million passed the House of Delegates, the supporters of the bill knew they did not have the votes in the Senate. As a result, the Senate “rejected” the amended bill, which then meant it went to a “conference committee.” This is when three Senators and three Delegates are appointed as a group to try and find a compromise to pass the legislature. The conferees appointed to SB 536 were Senator Surovell, Senator Obenshain, Senator Srinivasan, Delegate Hope, Delegate Simon, and Delegate Ballard. All 6 legislators supported the bill and the majority of them are strong supporters of increasing the current cap.
Senator Surovell (Senate Majority Leader) and Senator Obenshain (patron of SB 536) called the stakeholders together Friday morning to discuss the bill and next steps. They acknowledged that at this point in time, because of the process concerns, they did not have the votes to pass it. However, they indicated that the current law must be changed and they will have the votes the next time when those concerns are no longer valid. They amended SB 536 once more to make it a mandatory reporting bill so that legislators have the information they need to make an informed decision next year. The bill now requires medical malpractice insurers, hospitals, and health systems to disclose certain information regarding medical malpractice claims. You can read the new bill here: https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211549.PDF
Senator Surovell and Senator Obenshain also directed the stakeholders (hospitals, providers, insurers, trial attorneys, etc) to begin meeting regularly and come up with a compromise to offer before next year. They said they would like an update every two weeks on the progress made. While we are relieved the cap has not increased to $6 million, it is quite clear that the majority of current legislators believe our current law has run its course.