DELAWARE - Legislation on hospital cost management was up for discussion Wednesday in Dover. House Substitute one for House Bill 350 was met in the chamber with opposition from multiple hospitals.
The substitute would differ from the original bill by:
- Providing additional detail regarding the operation of the Board, budget modifications and provides an appeal right to the Superior Court.
- It changes the application of the definition of hospital to exclude psychiatric facilities.
- The deadline for the Board to issue a final decision on a budget is changed to 90 days before the start of a hospital’s fiscal year rather than a fixed date as hospital's fiscal years vary.
- The confidentiality provisions for hospital records have been updated.
But the act itself would create a "Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board", which would be responsible for review and approval of annual hospital budgets beginning with budgets for calendar year 2026. The board would consist of five members, three of which would be appointed by the governor and one being appointed by the house and one by the senate. House Speaker Valerie Longhurst is the sponsor of the bill.
According to Speaker Longhurst, this bill aims to help navigate hospitals through the rising costs of care. She also added that having a state appointed board would allow for more transparency to the public.
"We have the Governor, the Senate and the House All interested in it because every day we see our constituents and what they're going through with the rise of health care.," she said to CoastTV. "We can't make it so that nobody can afford health care in our state."Â
However the bill has been met with disapproval from the medical community. Brian Frazee, president and CEO of the Delaware Healthcare Association, believes decisions that would impact local patients should be made by local officials.
"We all want quality health care for our state and our local communities. And those decisions are best made by our local community leaders serving on our nonprofit hospital boards and not a statewide five member politically appointed commission," he said.
Representative Longhurst mentioned at the beginning of the Wednesday hearing that in 2018, Delaware established a healthcare spending benchmark to help prevent drastic increases in costs that did not work because there was no mechanism as a state to help meet set targets.
"Our job as legislators is to present, discuss and ultimately create solutions to difficult problems facing our constituents. That is exactly what House Bill 350 does." said Longhurst in the hearing.
Several healthcare workers took to the public comment portion of the hearing to express their concern and desire to help shape this legislature. The substitute for the bill ultimately passed committee and will move forward.Â
The General Assembly is preparing to be in recess for spring break. Speaker Longhurst told CoastTV she plans to speak with healthcare professionals about the bill during the break.
