UPDATE: Senate Bill 1 Advances from Health Committee

March 18, 2026/Joe Ciccanti

UPDATE –3/18/26: Delaware legislation aimed at improving access to primary care and controlling healthcare costs has advanced out of the Senate Health Committee. Supporters say Senate Bill 1 would expand access, shift toward value-based care, and address high costs, particularly in underserved areas. However, earlier concerns from the Delaware Healthcare Association suggest the proposal could reduce hospital funding by hundreds of millions of dollars annually and potentially impact thousands of healthcare jobs, while discussions continue among stakeholders.

Full Report from Legislative Hall:

Legislation to reform and reinvigorate primary care in Delaware advanced from the Senate Health Committee following an extensive committee hearing on Wednesday.

 
“Delaware’s system of primary care is in a tremendously precarious position, with a majority of Delawareans lacking access to a primary care provider. At the same time, patients seeking care are paying some of the highest health care prices in the country,” said prime sponsor Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend. “Senate Bill 1 addresses both health care cost and quality for patients by making primary care more accessible to patients and standardizing a framework of value-based care.”
 
Endorsed by the Delaware Department of Insurance, the Medical Society of Delaware, Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers (FQHCs), and other health care experts across the nation, Senate Bill 1 would shift the state’s health care industry toward a focus on wellness and an adoption of value-based care models. 
 
“Health care reform is not a new idea in Delaware, and this bill is not about provider regulation. It is about fixing the cost and quality of health care through the only avenue where robust regulation is taking place: the insurance industry,” said Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro. “Since the implementation of Senate Bill 120, primary care investment by commercial insurers has more than doubled from roughly $30 million annually in 2022 to about $70 million last year. In that time, insurer competition meaningfully increased, and we are seeing the foundation for better outcomes and more savings, because patients with chronic illnesses who have consistent primary care have dramatically lower costs, nearly 54% lower expenses on average.”
 
Several primary care practitioners and health policy experts provided testimony, focusing on the challenges facing independent primary care practices and the need to attract more providers to the State — especially in Delaware’s more rural and underserved communities.
 
“The core issue in question with this legislative debate is the importance of maintaining the viability of independent primary care practices in our state,” said Dr. Richard Henderson, past president of the Medical Society of Delaware. “Both the data and the reality are very clear: physicians practicing independently are not and have not been the driver of increasing health care costs. A deeper dive into the data will also show that physician-owned outpatient facilities provide significant cost savings, meaning low-costs while improving outcomes.”
 
“Without meaningful reform and investment, many practices will struggle to remain viable. The consequences of continued underinvestment are real and immediate. Physicians may be forced to reduce patient panels, limit access to new patients, or, in some cases, leave traditional practice models altogether,” said Dr. Michael Bradley, president of Medical Network Management Services Delaware (MedNET) and past president of the Medical Society of Delaware. “If these trends accelerate, many Delaware residents — particularly those in the underserved communities of Kent and Sussex County — may face further difficulty finding a primary care physician. None of the recent 12 primary care residents that graduated from Bayhealth last year are in practice in Delaware.”
 
Following expert testimony, members of the Senate Health Committee asked questions and provided comment. 
 
“As someone with a career in hospital administration,” remarked committee member Sen. Ray Seigfried, “I crunched some numbers to better understand the situation. Looking at Delaware’s 2023 net payments per provider compared with those of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland was surprising. On average, inpatient payments in Delaware are around 11% higher than the three-state average, and outpatient payments are around 22% higher. Cost control is not about reducing care or limiting access, or the threat of eliminating jobs. It is about making sure that public dollars are spent responsibly and that health care systems operate with the same level of accountability expected in every other part of government.”
 
Original Post from 3/12/26: 
The Delaware Healthcare Association says updated modeling suggests Delaware Senate Bill 1 could result in about $413 million in annual reductions to hospital services and place up to 4,000 healthcare jobs at risk, higher than earlier estimates. The organization says the proposal’s reference-based pricing approach could affect hospital operations and access to care. DHA officials say they are continuing discussions with bill sponsors, the Delaware Department of Insurance, and other stakeholders to explore value-based care initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes and managing costs while maintaining quality and access. According to State legislators, Senate Bill 1 aims to control healthcare costs and strengthen primary care by limiting how much insurers can pay for certain services relative to Medicare rates, while also requiring insurers to spend a greater share of healthcare dollars on primary care and value-based care programs.
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