Gov. Carney signs hospital cost bill into law

DELAWARE – Thursday, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law House Substitute 2 for House Bill 350.

Lawmakers said the bill aims to keep health care costs down for consumers by requiring hospitals to submit budgets and financial information to the newly created Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board. Many Delaware healthcare providers spoke out against the bill leading up to its passage.

Ultimately, lawmakers and providers were able to compromise on several key elements, though concerns remain for the Delaware Healthcare Association.

“We hope to also revisit some of the elements of it in the future as it gets stood up. Again, we’ve said all along that we have a lot of issues with the fact that the board will have the ability and authority to modify and approve the hospital’s budget as part of this enforcement process,” said Brian Frazee, CEO and President of the Delaware Healthcare Association.

Among the elements removed from the original bill was a temporary reference pricing provision that the DHA said would have cost Delaware hospitals $360 million.