The House Appropriations Committee heard fiscal concerns over a bill that would require Medicaid programs to cover the termination of pregnancies, as well as a bill to establish a hospital cost review board for the state.
House Majority Leader Melissa Minor-Brown (D-New Castle) effectively revived her bill on Wednesday to require all health benefit plans delivered or issued for Medicaid to cover services related to the termination of pregnancy.
After passing last year in the House Health and Human Development committee, the bill has been awaiting a hearing in House Appropriations ever since due to its annual $500,000 fiscal cost.
The bill caps the maximum benefit to $750 for services related to pregnancy termination, and data provided assumes 85% of abortions are non-surgical and cost close to $600.
During the hearing, Republican representatives brought up questions as to why termination of pregnancy should be covered in full with no deductible, coinsurance or copayment.
Delaware Department of Health and Social Services Director of Health Care Reform Steven Costantino explained the bill would specifically aid low-income birthing persons in terminating a pregnancy.
“This is a state run program, but it’s using kind of the Medicaid eligibility side of it for eligibility of the service. So it’s an affordability issue because most of these individuals are under 138% of poverty," Costantino explained.
The bill ended up passing through the committee with only Democratic support.
The House Appropriations Committee also heard House Speaker Valerie Longhurst's (D-Bear) bill to establish the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board after a contentious hearing last month in the House Administration Committee.
The bill would create a five-member board to review and approve Delaware hospital budgets beginning in 2026, modeled after a similar board in Vermont, in an effort to control rising health care costs.
State Rep. Kevin Hensley (R-Townsend) noted Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board utilizes an operating budget of over $8 million, while this bill projects Delaware’s board to only cost around $700,000 annually.
Costantino explains the Green Mountain Care Board oversees more hospitals than Delaware's board would, has 27 staff members and has more responsibilities like rate regulations, which Delaware's Department of Insurance takes care of, and cost shift analysis.
“This can be looked at over time, but I think we really came with a good number knowing that this was just a portion of what – when we looked at Vermont, and we actually looked at some other states as well, Maryland and what they do – we think that this is adequate," he said.
Republicans continued to stress their belief the $700,00 estimate is too conservative and voted against the bill's release.
Both bills were released from committee on a party-line vote and now head to the House floor.
