After more than 1,200 bills passed in the Virginia General Assembly, Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed the first set of bills tackling several areas of affordability.
The governor’s action marks the first major set of bills signed from the 2026 General Assembly session. Spanberger had previously signed voter referendum legislation allowing mid-decade congressional redistricting to go before voters on April 21. The signed bills address housing, health care and energy.
As the cost of health care continues to be a nationwide issue, an Alexandria couple has launched a fundraiser to help regional residents burdened by medical debt.
Scott and Kara Pitek introduced the campaign through the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, which was established by former debt collectors to purchase and eliminate medical debt. Funds raised through the campaign will help residents facing medical debt in the City of Alexandria and Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William counties.
The Alexandria Health Department is alerting city residents to recent measles exposures that occurred in Northern Virginia last week.
A preschool-aged child in the region who recently traveled internationally was confirmed to have measles, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The child visited three health care sites across Woodbridge and Falls Church from Jan. 13-18, which AHD notes may have led to potential exposures.
Improving mental health across the city will be in focus in Alexandria’s next Community Health Improvement Plan.
Mental wellness is one of three topics that will be addressed in the city’s new CHIP, AHD announced last week. The topic was selected for further engagement after 47% of 2,020 respondents in the city’s 2025 Community Health Assessment survey selected “mental health” as their top community health issue.
In a roundtable near Alexandria today, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said there is a small chance that the Senate will coalesce around a deal to prevent premium health care hikes for millions of Americans before next month.
Kaine made the statement surrounded by health care professionals at a Neighborhood Health clinic just south of Alexandria, in the wake of Thursday’s rejection of health care bills in the U.S. Senate to extend Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions passed in 2021 that will expire at the end of this year.
New holiday trees from the Alexandria Health Department are seeking to spread cheer while preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections.
A small, artificial tree in AHD’s clinic waiting room at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive) is decorated with about 20 to 30 sexual health items, including internal and external condoms, as well as fentanyl test strips. A second “condom tree” has been placed at Friends to Lovers Romance Book Store at 301 Cameron Street.
Inova Alexandia Hospital has been named one of the top hospitals in the country for maternity care in an annual ranking by U.S. News & World Report.
Alexandria’s hospital at 4320 Seminary Road was joined in the publication’s Fifth Annual 2026 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care list by its sister hospitals, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital and Inova Loudoun Hospital. The facility was recognized as a birthing-friendly hospital, a designation measured by C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, severe unexpected newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates and birthing-friendly practices, among other measures.
Inova Health Center — Oakville recently celebrated a milestone.
The health center opened to the public last November, and since then, more than 40,000 patients have received emergency, primary, specialty and surgical care, according to the hospital system.
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track Monday after a handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to break the impasse in what has become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services, the longest in history.
What's in and out of the bipartisan deal drew sharp criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation provides funding to reopen the government, including for SNAP food aid and other programs, while also ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers the Trump administration had left in doubt.
Facing billions in federal health care cuts in Virginia, Alexandria Congressman Don Beyer (D-8) is joining Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D-4) and State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39) next week for three in-person panel discussions across Virginia.
The $715 billion in federal health care cuts would impact Medicaid and Planned Parenthood. The trio of Northern Virginia legislators will hold their first panel at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, June 2, at the Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library (5005 Duke St, Alexandria). The trio will then conduct similar panels later in the day in Norfolk and Richmond.
Alexandria Congressman Don Beyer (D-8th) is sounding the alarm about proposed Medicaid cuts that could have devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of Virginians who rely on the program for healthcare.
Beyer hosted a roundtable at his Alexandria office Friday with elected leaders, healthcare providers, advocates, and affected Virginians to discuss the potential impact of nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts proposed in a budget resolution passed by House Republicans last week.
