Delaware health care costs expected to jump – again

Christina Bryan of the Delaware Healthcare Association, which represents the interests of the state’s hospitals, gave a presentation showing national projections that call for a hefty 8.5% increase in hospital, pharmaceutical and other medical spending in 2026. 

If that were to occur in Delaware, it would pile onto health care spending increases in recent years that totaled nearly $2 billion – an amount that far outpaced the rate of inflation. 

Bryan gave her presentation to members of the state’s Healthcare Spending Benchmark subcommittee of the powerful Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council, which manages the state’s revenue projections. During the meeting, the subcommittee members weighed whether to approve a new goal for Delaware spending increases – a metric designed to encourage hospitals to be more thrifty. 

Delaware is among eight states to set government spending goals for the health care industry, which it calls benchmarks. In 2018, then-Gov. John Carney created Delaware’s system with the signing of two executive orders.  

Since then, Delaware has blown past its spending benchmarks almost every year they have been in effect. 

When considering the latest benchmark, the chair of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council, Alan Levin, expressed skepticism toward a goal that could limit hospital spending below national projections, saying he would not recommend one unless it could “be supported with data.”  

Ultimately, the members of the subcommittee did not recommend a new benchmark, and instead kicked the decision to a later meeting.

The final vote on the benchmark will likely occur in October during a meeting of the full Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council.

Lawsuit paused

The state officials discussed the health care spending goals even as a lawsuit threatens the Delaware regulatory board responsible for enforcing the benchmark. 

The Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board, established as an oversight mechanism to review hospital spending, has faced massive opposition from health systems. And, last year, Delaware’s largest hospital system, ChristianaCare, sued the state over it.

In a recent filing in the suit, attorneys for the two sides agreed to pause further proceedings until Sept. 30 in “the interests of the parties and the public.” 

When reached by phone, Kurt Heyman, an attorney representing the state, did not provide details beyond what was said in the filing, and so it is unclear if the pause means the two sides are working on a settlement.