Virginia Just Passed a Law to Vet Every Nursing Home Ownership Change — and Advocates Say It’s Long Overdue

Richmond, Virginia — For years, Virginia’s nursing home residents and their families had little way of knowing who was really taking over a facility — or whether the new owners had a track record worth trusting. That’s about to change.

The Virginia legislature has unanimously passed a bill requiring the state Department of Health to review all nursing home ownership transfers before they’re finalized. The measure now sits on the desk of Governor Abigail Spanberger, who has until April 13 to sign it into law.

The bills — carried by Senator Barbara Favola and Delegate Rodney Willett — passed both chambers without a single opposing vote, a rare show of unity in a deeply divided statehouse.

What the new law would do

Under the legislation, any prospective buyer looking to take over a Virginia nursing home would first need to pass a review by the Virginia Department of Health. Officials would assess the applicant’s history operating other facilities and their fitness to provide care before any transfer could proceed.

Dana Parsons, a policy advocate with LeadingAge Virginia, says the current system leaves residents exposed. “It’s a major impact on quality of care when you have a change in ownership,” she said. “I’m hoping the results of this will be enhanced resident safety, accountability, transparency, and just really improving the quality of care overall.”

Willett said the push for the legislation grew out of complaints about nursing home conditions in central Virginia and broader concerns about the growing, and often difficult-to-trace ownership of facilities by private equity and venture capital firms. “Just to make sure who they are, where they’ve been, and make sure they’ve done a good job in operating other facilities,” he told Radio IQ.

Industry groups also backed the change. Amy Hewett of the Virginia Health Care Association called it a critical update. “It closes a critical gap in resident protections by strengthening oversight during nursing home operator transition,” she said.

A win in the middle of a difficult session

The ownership review bill wasn’t the only item on advocates’ wish list. LeadingAge Virginia had also pushed for additional nurse training funds, more support for Area Agencies on Aging, and stronger long-term care ombudsman resources. None of those requests made it into the budgets lawmakers considered during the session.

There was also a separate effort — backed by Willett himself — to set new minimum staffing standards for nursing home employees. It didn’t pass either, though it was turned into a study rather than a flat rejection.

The state’s budget picture is tight. Federal Medicaid cuts have forced Virginia, like many states, to stretch dollars further than anyone would like. “It’s feeding people, it’s insuring people — we’ll have to do that,” Willett said. “The numbers are daunting.”

A special budget session is scheduled for late April, and advocates say they plan to keep pushing for the funding items that didn’t make it the first time.

For now, though, the ownership review bill represents real progress. If signed, Virginia joins a growing number of states trying to make nursing home ownership more accountable — and a little harder to hide.