DOVER, Del. – The Delaware Healthcare Association (DHA)'s CEO voiced concerns on the state’s new hospital budget review board, citing worries over its impact on healthcare accessibility and hospital sustainability.
DHA President and CEO Brian Frazee issued a statement following Tuesday’s first meeting of the Diamond State Hospital Review Board, urging policymakers to tread carefully.
“With looming federal funding cuts and changes to critical programs like Medicaid, hospitals will be needed to bridge the gap and provide care,” Frazee said. “Now is not the time to experiment with failing Vermont policies.”
He referenced Vermont’s hospital budget review system, which he said has placed 69% of the state’s hospitals at risk of closure.
HB 350, the law establishing Delaware’s seven-member hospital cost review board, passed after modifications but remains controversial. The legislation requires hospitals to submit budgets for approval, a measure hospitals argue is excessive. ChristianaCare, the state’s largest health system, has filed a lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality.
Frazee warned that federal policy changes could reduce Medicaid funding, leading to more uninsured patients and straining hospital resources. Delaware, the sixth-oldest and eighth-fastest growing state, faces increasing healthcare demands, he said, emphasizing the need for a holistic, collaborative approach to reform.
“This week marks five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—a time when hospitals, state officials, and communities united to protect Delawareans,” Frazee said. “We must come together again to find real solutions, not implement policies that have failed elsewhere.”
DHA pledged to work with stakeholders and policymakers on strategies to strengthen healthcare affordability and outcomes without imposing restrictive budget oversight.