State Del. Rae Cousins has introduced legislation designed to confine Medicaid estate recovery in Virginia to minimum costs mandated under federal law and to offer permanent hardship waivers for heirs or dependents, as outlined by Cousins and documented by the Virginia State House.
The measure, filed as HB855 on Jan. 14, 2026, for consideration in the 2026 regular session, carries the official summary: “Medicaid; estate recoveries.”
Below is our analysis, referencing the actual bill text, which includes interpretation for clarification purposes.
Fundamentally, the proposal limits Medicaid estate recovery in Virginia so the Department of Medical Assistance Services is authorized to recoup only the amounts federally required for Medicaid-supported nursing facility care. It would also cap recoveries from managed care to the applicable portion or rate linked to such mandated services, choosing the lesser amount. The bill introduces permanent hardship waivers for heirs or dependents, repeals a connected code provision, and mandates the agency to revise regulations within 280 days, obtain necessary federal approvals, and publish multilingual online resources on estate recovery and hardship waivers.
Del. Rae Cousins (D-79th District) is sponsoring the initiative, joined by Del. Kathy K.L. Tran (D-18th District), Del. Marcia S. “Cia” Price (D-85th District), and eight additional co-patrons.
Cousins has submitted 18 other proposed measures since this year’s session began.
Cousins received her BA from the College of William and Mary in 2001 and earned her JD from Howard University School of Law in 2010.
A Democrat, Cousins was elected in 2024 to the Virginia State House representing the 79th District, succeeding former state delegate Nadarius Clark.
In Virginia, the legislative process starts when a bill is presented in either the House of Delegates or Senate. The bill is referred to relevant committees for review and possible amendment. If it clears committee, it moves to debate and votes in each chamber. Passage by both the House and Senate sends the bill to the governor, who may sign it, veto it, or permit it to become law without signing. The General Assembly’s regular session commences annually on the second Monday of January. Hundreds of bills are introduced each session, though only some become law.
| Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rae Cousins, Kathy K.L. Tran, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Briana D. Sewell, Charlie Schmidt, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Irene Shin, Jackie H. Glass, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nicole Cole, and Virgil Thornton | HB855 | 01/14/2026 | Medicaid; estate recoveries. |
| Rae Cousins, Katrina Callsen, and Virgil Thornton | HB845 | 01/14/2026 | Unlawful detainer; bifurcation of case, contested rent and damages. |
| Rae Cousins, Charlie Schmidt, Debra D. Gardner, Delores L. McQuinn, Jackie H. Glass, and Karen Keys-Gamarra | HB848 | 01/14/2026 | Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; material noncompliance by landlord, rent escrow, relief. |
| Rae Cousins and Charlie Schmidt | HB849 | 01/14/2026 | Public school employees; suspension, notice and opportunity for a hearing. |
| Rae Cousins, Bonita G. Anthony, Charlie Schmidt, Jackie H. Glass, Marty Martinez, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nadarius E. Clark, Patrick A. Hope, Rozia A. Henson, Jr., and Virgil Thornton | HB852 | 01/14/2026 | Indigent defendant; abolition of fees, legal representation, jury trial costs, report. |
| Rae Cousins | HB853 | 01/14/2026 | Petition for modification of a sentence; eligibility, procedures, report. |
| Rae Cousins | HB854 | 01/14/2026 | Real property tax; local classification or designation for property, nonprofit organizations. |
| Rae Cousins, Delores L. McQuinn, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Holly M. Seibold, Irene Shin, Jackie H. Glass, Jeion A. Ward, Kathy K.L. Tran, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, and Michelle Lopes Maldonado | HB857 | 01/14/2026 | Home/electronic incarceration program; court shall assign pregnant/postpartum persons to program. |
| Rae Cousins, Paul E. Krizek, Bonita G. Anthony, Charlie Schmidt, Elizabeth R. Guzman, Gretchen M Bulova, Irene Shin, Jackie H. Glass, Joshua G. Cole, Karrie K. Delaney, M. Keith Hodges, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nadarius E. Clark, Nicole Cole, Patrick A. Hope, Rodney T. Willett, Rozia A. Henson, Jr., and Sam Rasoul | HB858 | 01/14/2026 | Legal holidays; replaces Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. |
| Rae Cousins, Amy J. Laufer, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, and Nicole Cole | HB859 | 01/14/2026 | Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements. |
| Rae Cousins, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Irene Shin, Jackie H. Glass, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, and Mark C. Downey | HB860 | 01/14/2026 | Local & Reg. Jails, St. Bd.; standards, etc., regarding lactation policies for incarcerated persons. |
| Rae Cousins, Bonita G. Anthony, and Holly M. Seibold | HB861 | 01/14/2026 | Pregnant & postpartum inmates; reporting requirements of state, regional, & local correctional fac. |
| Rae Cousins | HB862 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP), Commission on; structure and responsibilities. |
| Rae Cousins | HB863 | 01/14/2026 | Offenses, certain; elimination of mandatory minimum sentences. |
| Rae Cousins, Adele Y. McClure, Atoosa R. Reaser, Bonita G. Anthony, Charlie Schmidt, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Elizabeth R. Guzman, Jessica L. Anderson, John Chilton McAuliff, Karen R. “Kacey” Carnegie, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kimberly Pope Adams, Laura Jane Cohen, Leslie Chambers Mehta, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Marty Martinez, Michael B. Feggans, Nadarius E. Clark, Patrick A. Hope, Rozia A. Henson, Jr., and Stacey Annie Carroll | HB865 | 01/14/2026 | Workers’ compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. |
| Rae Cousins, Bonita G. Anthony, Elizabeth R. Guzman, Marty Martinez, and Patrick A. Hope | HB867 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority. |
| Rae Cousins | HB868 | 01/14/2026 | Political campaign advertisements; synthetic media, penalty. |
| Rae Cousins | HB869 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; purchase programs for local farm or food products. |
| Rae Cousins, Lamont Bagby, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Marty Martinez, and R. Lee Ware | HB872 | 01/14/2026 | Portable electronic devices; possession in district or circuit court, policies set by chief judge. |
Information in this article was sourced from the Virginia State House. Full data is available here.
