SB 223

Abstract

This Act is the product of the work of stakeholders who, with the encouragement of Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 50 (152nd General Assembly), met to examine how to integrate mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine into existing regulatory structures in this State. Mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine are innovative patient-centered models for the delivery of health care services that utilize mobile resources to deliver care and services to patients in an out-of-hospital environment in coordination with healthcare facilities or other healthcare providers. As part of mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs, emergency medical services provider agencies across the country of all sizes and types are partnering with hospitals, primary care physicians, nurses, and mental health and social services providers on innovative programs that both navigate patients to the right level of care as well as achieve goals of improved care and lower costs. Clinical research studies comparing patients in traditional hospitals with patients who received hospital-level care at home through mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs have found that those who received in-home care experienced fewer readmissions, lower mortality rates, reduced falls, and higher patient satisfaction rates. Based on temporary federal law enacted to relieve strain on healthcare systems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in this State developed relationships with emergency medical services provider agencies to implement mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs. However, this temporary federal authorization will end on December 31, 2024. Many states have acted ahead of the expiration of this federal authorization to incorporate mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs into existing regulatory structures. This Act integrates mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs into existing regulatory structures in this State by authorizing the establishment of mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs in this State through the Office of Emergency Medical Services (“Office”) in the Department of Health and Social Service’s Division of Public Health (“Division”). Specifically, this Act does the following: (1) Authorizes an organization licensed as or actively seeking licensure as an emergency medical services provider agency to apply to the Office to establish a mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine program. (2) Requires the Office to review applications to establish mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine programs and make recommendations to the Director of the Division, who is required to approve applications that meet the requirements established by this Act and regulations adopted by the Office. (3) The Office is required to establish standards, approved by the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, for the establishment and operation of mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine programs This Act takes effect immediately for purposes of the Office of Emergency Medical Services preparing to implement this Act, but is not implemented until the date of publication in the Register of Regulations of a notice by the Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services that the Office is prepared to implement this Act. The changes to the definition section, § 9802 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code, in Sections 2 and 3 of this Act are identical. These changes had to be made twice as § 9802 of Title 16 currently has 2 versions, one effective until July 17, 2028, and one effect as of July 17, 2028. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and, in Section 5 of this Act, to correct an internal reference in § 6701B of Title 18 of the Delaware Code affected by changes in Sections 2 and 3 of this Act.