Health Care, Flood Insurance among Topics for Discussion with Federal Delegation       

DOVER, DE – Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart and fellow members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) were in Washington, D.C. this week to discuss insurance issues with members of Congress. Key topics included retirement security, flood insurance, cybersecurity and health reform.

Nearly 40 chief state insurance regulators and senior staff gathered for the 2016 Commissioner Washington, DC Fly-In. Before meeting their congressional delegations, the regulators were briefed by Senator Susan Collins from Maine and Congressman Sean Duffy from Wisconsin. Political analyst Stu Rothenberg also gave a presentation on the impact that the 2016 elections may have on states.

“My department is in regular contact with Representative Carney and Senators Carper and Coons on the important matters that face Delawareans,” said Commissioner Stewart. “The Fly-In is a great opportunity to sit one-on-one with our federal delegation and find ways to collaborate on issues such as health care, captive insurance companies and flood insurance.”

NAIC members spent two days meeting with their respective congressional representatives to highlight the NAIC’s legislative agenda, discuss the impact of policy initiatives in the states and brief lawmakers on international insurance regulatory developments.

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DOVER – Delaware’s Division of Public Health (DPH) reported three more flu-related deaths for the 2015-2016 flu season, bringing the total to six. The three new fatalities involved two New Castle County residents, a 69-year-old female (Influenza A H1N1 – Swine) and a 54-year-old male (Influenza B); and a Sussex County resident, a 42-year-old female. All had underlying health conditions. There was no evidence of any of the deceased receiving a flu vaccine. All three deaths occurred in April.

For the current flu season, there are a total of 2,064 lab-confirmed cases in Delaware. During flu week 17, there were 88 new laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza among Delaware residents – 60 (68.2 percent) in New Castle County, 14 (15.9 percent) in Kent County, and 14 (15.9 percent) in Sussex County. The flu season has been unusual in that the number of cases peaked late and a group of fatalities occurred late in the season as well.

Still, this flu season remains much less deadly than last year’s season in which there were a total of 2,390 confirmed flu cases in Delaware, with 28 flu-related deaths. However, it is important to remember that flu season is ongoing, and more illnesses and fatalities are still possible.

“DPH is keeping our thoughts and prayers with the families and loved ones who lost someone to flu,” said Delaware DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “The flu season is still not over, and taking precautions and recognizing symptoms of the flu are still important, particularly for those who have significant medical conditions. If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms and have underlying health problems, you should consult your doctor immediately.”

Delawareans are encouraged to prevent infection by taking simple everyday measures such as washing hands, using hand sanitizer, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying at home when sick. These efforts help stop the spread of respiratory illnesses including flu.

Public Health officials always encourage anyone 6 months of age and older who has not yet been vaccinated against the flu to do so as soon as possible. DPH continues to offer the vaccine at four State Service Centers. Information for these sites can be found at dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/fluclinics.html. Additionally, the vaccine is available through medical providers, pharmacies, and some grocery stores.

For more information on influenza prevention, diagnosis and treatment, call DPH at 888-282-8672 or visit: flu.delaware.gov.

DPH previously announced three fatalities, all of whom were New Castle County adults with underlying medical conditions.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit delawarerelay.com.
Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock has proposed stricter regulations for the prescribing of opioid analgesics to help stem the tide of opioid prescription drug abuse and addiction.

The regulations include three major provisions:

• For an acute injury or procedure, a practitioner can prescribe a maximum initial seven-day supply of an opioid medication before additional steps are required.
• Prescribing beyond a seven-day supply or for additional prescriptions after the first seven-day supply, the practitioner will be required to check the patient’s prescription history in the State’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) along with obtaining informed consent from the patient for risks of such things as potential addiction, abuse, misuse, and risks of life-threatening respiratory depression and accidental overdose, which can be fatal.
• For patients being treated for chronic pain, practitioners will be required to check the State’s PMP and administer a urine drug screening at least twice a year while receiving chronic treatment with opioid medications. The practitioner must also consider and discuss alternative treatment options with a patient, and conduct a risk assessment to identify patients that are or may be at risk for dependence or misuse of a prescribed opioid. A signed treatment agreement will also be required to be in place for these patients.

“These new regulations recognize the undeniable link between prolonged prescriptions for opioids and the addictions that can result from their overuse. The regulations are also an acknowledgement that opioids are a gateway to the abuse of illegal drugs, especially heroin. Many individuals struggling with opioid addiction have indicated that it started with an injury or medical procedure and a prescription for opioids such as Percocet or Vicodin. The proposed regulations lay out requirements for the safe prescribing for both instances of acute pain as well as chronic, long-term conditions involving pain treatment,” said Secretary Bullock.

The regulations are the result of months of research and work by the Secretary’s Controlled Substance Advisory Committee, and input from various individuals and groups during an initial Public Comment and Hearing period last year. They also follow recommendations recently issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The proposed regulations are available for review during another Public Comment period through May 31, 2016.

These proposed regulations will apply to any Delaware licensed practitioner also licensed to prescribe controlled substances. These include physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, podiatrists, and dentists.

Nearly two million Americans abused or were dependent upon prescription opioids in 2014. 90 percent of heroin users indicate they started with prescription opioids. Overdoses from heroin, prescription painkillers, and other drugs led to the deaths of 171 Delaware residents in 2013, or about one person every other day. According to preliminary numbers, 204 Delawareans died of drug-related deaths in 2014.

To address the issue of opioid use and chronic pain treatment nationally, the CDC recently released new chronic pain management guidelines which are consistent with the new Department of State regulations. The goal of both is to improve the way that opioids are prescribed to ensure patients have access to safer, more effective chronic pain treatment while reducing the number of people who misuse, abuse, or overdose from these drugs.

“Prescription drug abuse is a public health crisis and opioids should never be the first line of defense to treat chronic pain,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, Division of Public Health Director and Prescription Drug Action Committee co-chair. “We must take a multi-faceted approach to combating this complex problem, including offering a variety of interventions to manage chronic pain, and provide medical providers the tools and resources they need to make the best prescribing decisions in partnership with their patients.”

“The addiction epidemic is taking a terrible toll on individuals and families across our state, including accidental overdose deaths, hospitalizations, babies being born addicted, homelessness, families in crisis, and many other challenges,” said Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf. “We must reduce the pipeline to prescription drugs while ensuring that legitimate pain needs are met. With every step, we will support medical providers in their efforts to reduce opioid prescribing.”

Opioids can be a problem not only for those prescribed the drug, but national studies show that more than two-thirds of people who misuse prescription drugs get them from friends and family, including raiding medicine cabinets, purses, and drawers.

Many other initiatives have been underway in Delaware over the past few years to address such things as safe disposal of unused medications, implementation of a state prescription monitoring program, education of practitioners on prescription drug abuse, increasing access to substance use disorder treatment and most recently, more ready access and use of the overdose reversal drug, naloxone. Providing regulations around best practices in patient care when prescribing opioids is aimed squarely at prescribing to reduce exposure to opioids, prevent abuse, decrease the rate of dependence and addiction, and ultimately lower the number of prescription drug-related overdose deaths.

Persons seeking help for drug addiction can visit www.HelpIsHereDE.com to connect with treatment and recovery services. The website also includes warning signs of addiction. For further information on the Prescription Drug Action Committee, visit: http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/pdachome.html.

Wilmington, DE – In his weekly message, Governor Markell recognizes the Delawareans who have devoted their career to public service, and talks about the positive impact of their work in building safe and strong communities and a responsive government that meets peoples’ needs.

“This time each year we recognize the contributions of teachers, law enforcement officers, and the many Delawareans who devote their career to public service,” Governor Markell said. “These individuals are often unsung heroes – doing the work that keeps our state running. Reflecting on the sacrifice and recognizing the accomplishments of our public servants reminds us of their contributions to ensure that our government is responsive to peoples’ needs and that it acts in big and small ways to improve the quality of life. Their hard work keeps Delaware moving forward.”

Every week, the Governor’s office releases a new Weekly Message in video, audio, and transcript form. The message is available on:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/5b-i_zxDPME
Delaware.Gov:http://governor.delaware.gov/podcast_video.shtml
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Transcript of the Governor’s Weekly Message: Recognizing the Contributions of Delaware’s Public Servants

This time each year we recognize the contributions of teachers, law enforcement officers, and the many Delawareans who devote their career to public service. These individuals are often unsung heroes – doing the work that keeps our state running. Some, including correctional officers, police officers, firefighters and first responders, and members of the National Guard, put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe. Others teach and inspire future generations, help the unemployed find work, protect the air and water, plow our streets, care for the sick and vulnerable, and the list goes on.

It’s why it’s so important that we take advantage of opportunities to recognize these men and women from activities around Teacher Appreciation Week to the solemn services held last Wednesday for Police Memorial Day. This past week we also recognized more than 50 state employees for demonstrating extraordinary commitment to the state during the past year. They are people like DelDOT engineers Nicholas Dean and Scott Walls who not only work every day to help keep our roads safe, but they’ve also volunteered their time to meet with more than 1,000 local students to inspire them to become leaders in STEM fields. The members of our Delaware Bayshore Initiative Team are leading efforts to conserve, develop, enhance, and promote the amazing natural resources of the Bayshore. And our Division of Delaware Libraries Emerging Technologies Team is helping transform our libraries to meet the needs of our people in the 21st century.

Reflecting on the sacrifice and recognizing the accomplishments of our public servants reminds us of their contributions to ensure that our government is responsive to peoples’ needs and that it acts in big and small ways to improve the quality of life. Their hard work keeps Delaware moving forward.