Primary care investment legislation clears senate

DOVER, Del. - After months of negotiations, legislation to reform and reinvigorate primary care in Delaware unanimously passed the Senate on May 19. 

Senate Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 1 would shift the state’s health care industry toward a focus on wellness and an adoption of value-based care models.  

"The legislation we’ve passed today addresses both health care cost and quality for patients by making primary care more accessible to patients and standardizing a framework of value-based care," said prime sponsor Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend.

The framework doubled annual primary care investment in the commercial market. The substitute lawmakers expands on this work, requiring that state employee and Medicaid plans be included in the new framework.

Specifically, SB 1 empowers the Delaware Department of Insurance to promulgate value-based models that will continue to move the State’s health care system away from fee-for-service reimbursement may encourage frequent patient visits and billing codes instead of patient outcomes. Instead, value-based care models will be used across commercial, state, and Medicaid plans to maximize providers’ access to quality incentive payments. 

SB 1 also includes critical cost hospital containment mechanisms, including a phased-in system for capping hospital prices at 250% of Medicare rates for those services by 2033, to address the status quo of Delaware hospitals charging among the highest prices in the country.

Senate Bill 1 has been assigned to the House Health & Social Services Committee. 

"Primary care is the first line of defense in keeping our communities healthy," said Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha, House prime sponsor of SB 1 (S). "A strong healthcare system begins with ensuring that people have access to preventative care and the support they need before issues escalate. By investing in patient-centered care and more effective healthcare models, we can create healthier communities and create a healthcare system that is more affordable and equitable for everyone."