Delaware Health Insurance

How healthy is living
in Delaware?

Delaware was ranked as the 30th healthiest state in the union – up two spots – according to the 2011 version of America's Health Rankings®, commissioned by the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• Preventable hospitalizations declined since 2010 from 63.8 to 57.3 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• Smoking among Delaware adults has decreased over the past decade – from 22.9 percent to 17.3 percent of adults.

The bad news:

• The number of obese adults in Delaware has more than doubled – to 199,000 – over the past decade.
• During the same period, the number of adults with diabetes climbed by more than 50 percent.
• Poverty among children has been on the rise over the past five years, with 17.5 percent of children now in poverty, compared to 14.2 percent five years ago.

Delaware's best and worst category rankings:

• Geographic disparity – 1st
• Infectious Disease – 7th
• Binge Drinking – 46th
• Early Prenatal Care – 46th
• Violent crime – 48th

more details

• See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Delaware.
• Trust for America's Health ia another source for key Delaware health quality findings. In addition, 2010's federal health reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), included the creation of a prevention fund to provide more than $16 billion over the next 10 years to invest in effective, proven prevention efforts, like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessation, and the site has a report on how it impacts Delaware here.

get local health results

State snapshot too large? Get county-by-county health rankings for Delaware, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin.

Does Delaware have a health insurance high risk pool?

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Delaware started offering health care insurance coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Delaware's participation, click here.

Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state to state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the pool to keep it in the black. In the best cases, they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Read more about risk pools here.

Non-profit sources of health insurance information for Delaware

• The Foundation for Health Coverage Education's mission is to provide simplified public and private health insurance eligibility information in order to help more people access coverage. Here is its guide to guide on how to find health insurance in Delaware.
• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is tracking the progress of health insurance reform in each state. Its page for Delaware can be found here.
• The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization that, among other things, provides health care plan report cards for consumers. Search for Delaware health insurance plan report cards.

Delaware state government health insurance resources

Health care reform — what you need to know —  How Delaware will implement the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

State of Delaware Medicaid Information —  Medicaid furnishes medical assistance to low-income families and the elderly, blind and disabled people without enough income to pay for medical services.

Delaware Healthy Children Program —  Help for families meeting certain income guidelines get health insurance for their children age 18 and under.

State of Delaware Department of Insurance —  The department has published “The Instant Insurance Guide: Health” as a guide to buying and using health insurance in Delaware. To obtain printed copies of the guide, please call 1-800-282-8611 or (302) 674-7310, or email consumer@state.de.us.

How did Delaware officials vote on health reform?

H.R.2: Repealing the Health Care Bill

#14

Date of Vote: 1/19/2011 Status: House passed 245-189, 1 not voting

HOUSE|SENATE

1/19/2011--Passed House amended. Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions. [more]

Our
Pick

No (1)

• John Carney