Meyer Outlines Healthcare Reform Proposals

Gov. Matt Meyer on Monday announced two major healthcare reform proposals aimed at lowering medical costs, expanding access to affordable care, and increasing oversight of hospital ownership in Delaware.

Joined by legislative leaders and state officials, Meyer outlined what he described as a broader effort to make Delaware’s healthcare system more transparent, affordable, and accountable for patients facing rising medical expenses.

“Healthcare costs are too damn high, and Delawareans are being forced to make impossible choices. No one should have to decide between paying for their medications or their rent,” Meyer said. “These bills are about putting Delawareans first — healthcare should be about helping people, not profiting off of their pain.”

One of the proposed measures, sponsored by Sen. Marie Pinkney and Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha, would establish what state officials say would become one of the nation’s most comprehensive statewide hospital charity care standards.

Under the legislation, all Delaware general acute care hospitals would be required to provide free care to individuals earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level and discounted care for those earning up to 400%, regardless of insurance status. Patients earning between 300% and 350% of the federal poverty level would receive at least a 75% discount on medical bills, while those between 350% and 400% would qualify for at least a 50% discount.

The bill would also require hospitals to maintain medical hardship policies for patients whose healthcare expenses exceed 10% of household income and would standardize the state’s charity care application process. Additionally, physicians providing hospital-based care — including emergency room doctors, anesthesiologists, radiologists, and hospitalists — would be required to honor financial assistance determinations on their own bills.

“Healthcare is not truly accessible if people are afraid that getting care will financially ruin them,” Pinkney said. “This is not just a consumer protection bill. It is a public health bill, it is a healthcare affordability bill, and it is a dignity bill.”

Meyer also announced separate legislation sponsored by Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos and Rep. Kendra Johnson that would temporarily prohibit for-profit entities from acquiring control of nonprofit acute care hospitals in Delaware through July 1, 2028.

The proposal would block for-profit hospital acquisitions through sales, mergers, affiliations, minority ownership arrangements, or other forms of operational control. It would also prevent for-profit companies from applying to build or acquire acute care hospitals in Delaware during the moratorium period.

“Healthcare costs are skyrocketing for a number of reasons: workforce shortages, inflation, and other market pressures,” Mantzavinos said. “But on top of that, we’re seeing a surge of private equity firms buying hospitals around the country with one simple and alarming goal: maximizing profit off of patients seeking care. We’re not going to let this happen in Delaware.”

State officials also discussed plans to continue advancing multi-payer value-based healthcare models designed to reduce long-term costs while improving patient outcomes across Delaware. Although the bill has met with mostly bipartisan support, there are some concerns.

The strongest concerns reported publicly have come from the hospital community regarding the charity care expansion proposal, Senate Bill 13. Representatives from the Delaware Healthcare Association said hospitals worked closely with lawmakers to make sure the legislation could realistically be implemented without creating excessive financial strain on healthcare systems already facing staffing shortages and rising costs.

“We were really just trying to make sure that whatever was going to be in the bill was something that we could operationalize and wouldn’t have a huge financial burden on our hospitals because we were already facing so much and being asked to do more with less,” said Christina Crooks Bryan with the Delaware Healthcare Association.

At the same time, healthcare advocates and lawmakers supporting the bill argue Delaware hospitals, especially nonprofit systems, should provide more free and discounted care in exchange for their tax-exempt status. The push follows investigations into hospital charity care practices and medical debt in Delaware.

As for Senate Bill 313, the proposal that would temporarily block for-profit entities and private equity groups from taking control of Delaware hospitals, there has not yet been significant organized public opposition reported. However, measures like this often draw debate nationally from business groups and healthcare investors who argue restrictions could limit competition, investment, or future financial partnerships for struggling hospitals.

Supporters of the Delaware bill say the moratorium is meant to prevent situations like the collapse of the Crozer Health hospital system in neighboring Pennsylvania after private equity ownership. Johnson referenced the recent closure of hospitals in neighboring Pennsylvania as an example of the risks associated with hospital consolidation and financial instability.

“I refuse to let my community in Delaware suffer like my community in my hometown Chester still is,” Johnson said. “I am proud to work alongside my colleague Sen. Mantzavinos in ensuring that safeguards are put in place to avoid a catastrophic hospital shutdown.”

Gov. Matt Meyer and legislative sponsors have framed the legislation as a preventive measure, emphasizing that no acute care hospitals in Delaware are currently owned by private equity firms.

Both bills are still early in the legislative process and awaiting committee consideration, meaning more debate and potential amendments are likely as healthcare organizations, insurers, lawmakers, and advocacy groups weigh in.