DOVER, DE— A controversial House Bill, HB 350, has cleared the committee phase and is now expected to be officially released on Wednesday. The goal of the bill is to establish a review board that would oversee healthcare costs and hospital budgets.
Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend and House Speaker Valerie Longhurst are the prime sponsors of this bill. A vote on HB 350 isn't expected until later in the month.
The proposed legislation has received lots of pushback from within the healthcare community. The Delaware Healthcare Association is leading that charge. In a letter addressed to Governor John Carney and key legislators, the association criticized the bill, labeling it as flawed and potentially disastrous. They argue that it not only threatens hospital systems but also poses risks to the broader business and nonprofit sectors.
Delaware Senate Republicans issued a statement on May 6 that, in part, reads: "We strongly oppose HB 350 and the government’s intended takeover of hospitals’ budgets. Rarely has the government imposed stronger restrictions or, in cases like this, directly interjected itself into the private industry and improved the conditions it wished to correct. This will no doubt hinder or, worse, destroy Delaware’s non-profit hospitals.”
Despite resistance, supporters of House Bill 350 claim that it will bring prices down and increase transparency within the healthcare sector. Townsend and Longhurst emphasized the need for reform, stating, "Delawareans are spending more on healthcare than people in nearly every other state, while often getting substandard outcomes. None of the fear-mongering or threats we have heard from the Delaware Healthcare Association over the last month will change that fact. Neither will inaction by the Delaware General Assembly. We must take the steps Delawareans need and deserve."
It does appear that already there is some willingness to compromise in certain areas of HB 350. In response to concerns raised by opponents, House Majority Whip Kerri Evelyn Harris has introduced a complementary measure, House Bill 395. This new bill proposes replacing the initial limit on price increases, which was based on 250% of Medicare prices, with a more adaptable Consumer Price Index.