Sen. Dave Sokola

This Act requires health spas selling subscription services online to provide a prospective buyer of such a subscription the right to cancel the automatic renewal online. The option to cancel is also to be presented on the website in a clear and conspicuous manner to simplify such cancellation for the buyer.

This Act is a substitute for House Bill 253. Like HB 253, it requires health insurance companies, including State employee/retiree health plans and Medicaid, to cover annual mammograms for the purpose of early detection for a woman 40 years of age or older, with or without referral from the woman’s health care provider. It also prohibits mammography facilities from requiring that women, 40 years of age or older, provide the facility with the name of a healthcare provider in order to receive an annual screening mammogram. This substitute differs from HB 253 by updating Title 18, Section 3552 of the Delaware for consistency with the rest of the bill. Specifically, it requires insurance carriers to provide coverage for annual mammograms for cancer screening beginning at age 40 rather than age 50 and prohibits carriers from requiring a referral for these annual mammograms.

This Act requires a landlord who provides a dwelling place to a person as part of their employment compensation to provide them with a disclosure form advising them of the conditions and requirements for occupancy and vacancy of the premises once they are no longer employed for the landlord. The disclosure must inform the tenant employee that the landlord must offer the tenant, within 5 business days of termination by the employer, the opportunity to enter into a written rental agreement, if no rental agreement is in effect already. No offer for a rental agreement is necessary if the tenant employee is terminated for cause. The landlord may condition the rental agreement on the person financially qualifying as a tenant and meeting the landlord’s income, credit, or other financial requirements for renting the unit. This Act also lengthens the time period the landlord must wait before bringing a summary possession action against a formerly employed tenant from 15 days to 30 days unless the termination is for cause.

This Act requires that Medicaid and State employee health plans cover: (1) ovarian cancer monitoring tests for women treated for ovarian cancer; and (2) annual screening tests for women at risk for ovarian cancer.

This Act corrects, clarifies, and amends Title 29, Chapter 69 which articulates state procurement guidelines and procedures. The changes to the chapter realign some responsibilities from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to the Director of the Section of Government Support Services (Section) within the Office of Management and Budget. Additional chapter amendments include the addition of processes to Subchapter VI, Professional Services, and authorizes the Section to lead some mandatory use Professional Services contracting efforts. The Professional Services changes made are similar to the processes and procedures as identified in other subchapters of Chapter 69. The changes will not impact the vendor community.

This Act provides civil and criminal remedies for the wrongful disclosure of deep fakes that depict individuals in the nude or engaging in sexual conduct. It provides the same remedies as those available under: (1) the Delaware Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act, Chapter 78 of Title 10; and (2) a Violation of Privacy offense under §1335 of Title 11. It further provides that when an adult creates a visual depiction of a minor that is nude or engaging in sexual conduct, the adult would be subject to a felony prosecution, rather than a misdemeanor prosecution.

Like House Bill No. 286, House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 286 prohibits discrimination in life insurance based on genetic characteristics, genetic information, or the result of any genetic test. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 286 differs from House Bill No. 286 as follows: 1. Provides a definition of “direct-to-consumer genetic testing”. 2. Allows the use of any genetic information that is in an individual's medical record or application for life insurance. 3. Allows a person engaged in the business of life insurance to request that an individual share genetic information from a direct-to-consumer genetic testing or to request that an individual provide written consent for entity to provide that information. 4. Allows an entity that provides direct-to-consumer genetic testing to share information with a person engaged in the business of life insurance but only with the written consent of the individual. 5. Clarifies that a person engaged in the business of life insurance may not do any of the following: a. Require that an individual take a genetic test. b. Require that an individual provide genetic information received from an entity providing direct-to-consumer genetic testing or provide written consent for the entity to provide that information. c. Take into consideration the refusal by an individual to take a genetic test, provide genetic information received from direct-to-consumer genetic testing, or provide written consent to share information from direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Like HB 286, HS 1 for HB 286 also does all of the following: 1. Makes corresponding corrections to § 2317 of Title 18 by revising the heading for clarity and the definition of "insurance" to conform with the terms and definitions used in Title 18. 2. Is known as "The Ericka Byler Act”.

Section 1 of this Act establishes the Legislative Hall Art and History Advisory Commission ("Commission"). The Commission is established to advise and make recommendations to Legislative Council regarding art, monuments, and historical exhibits to be displayed in Legislative Hall or on the grounds of Legislative Hall. Section 2 of this Act ensures that the Commission’s meetings are open to the public.

This Joint Resolution directs the Division of Motor Vehicles to opt into the FMCSA’s federal exemption that allows for first time CDL applicants seeking a school bus only endorsement on their driver’s license. An applicant’s school bus only endorsement would only apply to intrastate operation of a school bus. The Division of Motor Vehicles is directed to implement this policy by May 1, 2024.

Healthcare facility assessments are currently the second largest source of funding for states’ shares of Medicaid costs, behind general funds. Today, 49 states have at least one facility assessment in place, including Delaware, while 34 states and Washington D.C. have 3 or more provider taxes. Delaware is one of only 6 states without a facility assessment on hospitals, causing the state to miss out on critical Medicaid funding that most states are already able to access. This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 13. Like Senate Bill No. 13, this Act creates the Hospital Quality Assessment, which places a 3.58% assessment on Delaware hospitals’ net patient revenues. Funds generated by the Hospital Quality Assessment must be utilized in one of two ways: (1) To increase the inpatient and outpatient payments to hospitals. (2) To develop or enhance funding for Medicaid initiatives, unlocking federal matching dollars. Funds may not be used to supplant or replace appropriations for programs in existence on the effective date of this Act, except for 25% of these funds, which may be used to support the general operations of the Medicaid program. Like Senate Bill No. 13, this Act also creates the Hospital Quality and Health Equity Assessment Commission (“Commission”), which includes state agency and hospital representation. The Commission is required to meet at least annually to monitor the implementation of the assessment. If the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) determines that either the assessment or the expenditure of money does not satisfy eligibility requirements for federal financial participation or that modifications are necessary to assure continued eligibility for federal financial participation, the Commission shall develop and approve modifications to Subchapters II and III of Chapter 10 of Tile 16 of the Delaware Code and submit the modifications to the General Assembly. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 13 as follows: (1) By directing the Department of Health and Social Services (“Department”) to administer the Hospital Quality Assessment. (2) By establishing a different method of calculating the assessment for a hospital that begins or ceases hospital operations or does not conduct hospital operations through a calendar year or fiscal year. (3) By prohibiting a hospital subject to the Hospital Quality Assessment from passing on the cost of the assessment to any patient, insurer, self-insured program, or other responsible party. (4) By requiring a hospital subject to the Hospital Quality Assessment to attest in writing to the Department that an oral or written, formal or informal agreement or arrangement does not exist to share, redirect, or redistribute Medicaid payments which would result in violation of federal or state law. (5) By updating the split in percentages of the funds collected from the Hospital Quality Assessment to reflect the wide range of federal match levels for services. The expected amount to be collected by the Assessment does not change as the result of the update. (6) By requiring the Registrar of Regulations to publish in the Register of Regulations a certification by the Commission under § 1034(d) and (e) of Title 16 of the Delaware Code, as contained in this Act. (7) By providing that appointments of members of the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives and Senate are to be made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, respectively. (8) By making modifications to the requirements for meetings of the Commission. (9) By providing that modifications to Subchapters II and III of Chapter 10 of Tile 16 of the Delaware Code recommended by the Commission take effect as of July 1 of the ensuing fiscal year unless rejected in full by an act of the General Assembly before that ensuing fiscal year. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose or levy a tax or license fee. This Act may be cited as the “Protect Medicaid Act of 2024”.