Delaware General Assembly

Senate Health & Social Services 5/12/26

Awaiting consideration in Committee

5/12/26

Pinkney

Reps. Chukwuocha, Minor-Brown

Sen. Cruce, Poore, Townsend
Rep. Harris

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 AND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HOSPITAL CHARITY CARE AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

This Act amends Title 16 and Title 6 of the Delaware Code relating to hospital charity care and financial assistance. Among other things, the Act does the following: (1) Section 1 of the Act amends § 9311 of Title 16 to exempt certain hospitals from the existing charity care requirement and require these hospitals to comply with the new financial assistance requirements under Section 2 of this Act. A hospital that provides exclusively psychiatric services, rehabilitative services, or long-term acute care services remains subject to the charity care requirement. (2) Section 2 of the Act creates a new Subchapter VII of Chapter 99 of Title 16, §§ 9961 through 9966, establishing minimum financial assistance standards for hospitals and facility-based providers. The subchapter requires full financial assistance for Delaware residents with household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, a 75% discount above 300% and at or below 350%, and a 50% discount above 350% and at or below 400%, and requires each hospital to maintain a medical hardship policy providing a 50% minimum discount with an income ceiling of at least 500% of the federal poverty level. Eligibility determinations are valid for at least 1 year, transfer among hospitals and facility-based providers, and suspend collection activity while an application or appeal is pending. Hospitals must provide notice in languages spoken by more than 5% of the hospital's service area, screen patients for financial assistance, report annually to the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board ("Board"), and publish a financial assistance policy addressing presumptive eligibility, the application process, Medicaid coordination, and patient refunds. The Board administers the subchapter and conducts compliance reviews, the Division of Health Care Quality may take licensure action on a finding of noncompliance, the Attorney General may bring a civil action on behalf of patients harmed by a violation, and the obligations run with the hospital license. (3) Section 3 of the Act amends § 1007 of Title 16 to extend the Department of Health and Social Services’ civil money penalty authority to violations of Subchapter VII of Chapter 99. (4) Section 4 of the Act amends § 2505J of Title 6 to prohibit a medical creditor or medical debt collector from taking extraordinary collection action against a patient who qualifies, or whom the creditor has reason to know likely qualifies, for financial assistance. (5) Section 5 of the Act amends § 2508J of Title 6 to prohibit collection communications, litigation, and debt referrals or sales by a medical creditor or medical debt collector that knows or should know that a patient's financial assistance application or appeal is pending. (6) Section 6 of the Act amends § 2511J of Title 6 to make noncompliance with the new subchapter, or a patient’s eligibility for financial assistance, a complete defense in a civil action to collect medical debt, and to bar entry of a default judgment in any such action without an affidavit from a responsible officer of the hospital attesting that the patient was offered financial assistance screening. (7) Section 7 of the Act provides that the minimum financial assistance standards under § 9962(a) and (b) of Title 16 take effect on January 1, 2027, and that all other provisions take effect on the earlier of notice by the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board, published in the Register of Regulations, that final implementing regulations have been adopted, or July 1, 2027.

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

View HTML View PDF