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ChristianaCare filed a lawsuit in Delaware Court of Chancery on Monday alleging that Delaware Assembly Bill 350 is unlawful and violates the health care system’s state and federal rights, reigniting a debate over the controversial health care bill that has divided lawmakers and health care providers.
The bill, signed into law June 13, aims to contain health care costs by requiring hospitals to submit annual budgets, audited financial statements and related financial information to the newly established Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board.
If the board determines a hospital is not meeting the state’s hospital cost growth standards, the board is required by law to work with the hospital to meet those standards in the future. And if the goals are still not met or the hospital cannot agree on an improvement plan, the law allows the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board to seek approval of the hospital’s future budgets.
According to a ChristianaCare press release, these requirements force private hospitals to “disclose confidential information about their future priorities and strategies” and “unfairly target only a small number of private hospitals.”
The bill was the center of intense debate throughout the legislative process, with health care providers and community advocates challenging the bill and it was amended multiple times. At one point, about 70 community leaders and organizations across Delaware, including ChristianaCare, submitted a letter to lawmakers warning that passage of HB 350 would have “devastating effects” not only on hospital systems but also on “businesses and nonprofits.”
Most of those providers ultimately reached a compromise with lawmakers, who agreed to a more flexible price index and gave them “greater certainty regarding the role and operation of the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board,” according to a news release from the Delaware Health Care Association.
In a news release Monday, ChristianaCare called the Diamond State Review Board “a politically appointed, unelected and unaccountable ‘super committee’ with the power to override strategic and budgetary decisions made by the hospital’s duly elected trustees.”
“This lawsuit is necessary to preserve and ensure independence in clinical decision-making and patient care, vital hospital services and resources, autonomy for our not-for-profit board of directors, and a strong health care delivery system in our region for future generations,” said Lolita Lopez, chair of ChristianaCare’s Health Services Committee.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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