AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HEALTH CARRIER COVERAGE OF IMMUNIZATIONS AND PREVENTIVE SERVICES.
Summary
HB338 amends Delaware insurance law to require health carriers offering individual, group, and blanket health benefit plans to cover specified preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing, including copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles. The bill ties required coverage to recommendations and guidelines that were in effect on January 1, 2025, including evidence-based services rated A or B by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, routine immunizations recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and preventive care guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration for infants, children, adolescents, and women.
The bill also clarifies that carriers are not required to continue covering services once the underlying recommendation or guideline is no longer included in the statute, while preserving the ability of carriers to offer additional coverage beyond the mandated minimums. It removes obsolete statutory language, including provisions related to older breast cancer screening recommendations from 2009, and updates the preventive-services framework to reflect the January 1, 2025 reference date.
Impact
HB338 would update Title 18 of the Delaware Code sections governing health carrier coverage of immunizations and preventive services. Its practical effect is to lock in coverage obligations based on federal preventive-care and immunization recommendations and guidelines as they existed on January 1, 2025, and to bar carriers from denying coverage for those services merely because recommendations later change. The bill affects insurers and health carriers, as well as policyholders who receive preventive care, by maintaining no-cost coverage for specified services and clarifying the scope of required benefits under state law.
Sentiment
The available bill materials suggest generally supportive sentiment, with multiple sponsors from both chambers and no recorded committee transcript or vote history indicating opposition. The synopsis frames the measure as a clarification and modernization of existing coverage rules rather than a major policy expansion, which is consistent with a broadly favorable posture toward preserving access to preventive care and immunizations. No formal voting record or committee debate is provided in the materials.
Contention
The main policy issue embedded in HB338 is whether health carriers should be required to keep covering services based on recommendations and guidelines that were in effect on a fixed date, even if those recommendations later change. Supporters appear to favor certainty and continued access to preventive services, while the statutory language also preserves carrier flexibility to cover additional services or deny coverage for services not included in the referenced recommendations. The bill further narrows potential disputes by repealing outdated breast cancer screening language, but no specific opposition or contested amendments are documented in the provided record.