Joins ten Insurance Commissioners in providing short- and long-term recommendations to the incoming administration

A group of the nation’s state insurance commissioners joined together in a pledge to work with President-elect Joe Biden by providing health policy recommendations to the incoming administration.

The commissioners share President-elect Biden’s vision that no American should have to go without health care coverage. They believe comprehensive and progressive health care is essential to addressing urgent public health priorities, such as the COVID-19 and opioid crises, addressing racial disparities in the health care system, and ensuring enforcement of mental health parity.

“President-elect Biden knows the healthcare needs of Delaware residents first-hand. So many of the healthcare challenges we face are being felt across the country, and I am proud to join Insurance Commissioners from coast to coast in recommending short and long-term policy solutions,” said Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro.

A letter sent by the group of commissioners detailed six immediate or critical policy recommendations and six longer-term recommendations for the Biden administration to consider.

Immediate policy recommendations

• Ensure immediate access to the federal marketplace, Healthcare.gov, through a special enrollment period.
• Provide immediate relief from Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy clawbacks created by COVID-19 uncertainty.
• Provide clarity on COVID-19 testing coverage requirements, especially in regard to tests that are ordered as part of state-based contact tracing efforts.
• Partner with states in actively focusing on programs and practices that address the needs of historically marginalized communities.
• Address problematic elements of the recently proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for Plan Year 2022.
• Allow flexibility for states aiming to pursue progressive policy aims by empowering them to apply for ACA innovation waivers beyond reinsurance.

Longer-term policy priorities

• Reverse policies, such as the weakening of non-discrimination protections and the public charge rule, that undermine the ACA and deny health care coverage to many people.
• Encourage both people and small businesses to enroll in ACA programs, and stop encouraging enrollment in insurance plans that do not provide the ACA’s most critical consumer protections.
• Improve income counting rules to allow consumers greater flexibility.
• Extend premium tax credits to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients so that legally present noncitizens have access to health care coverage.
• Modernize Department of Labor oversight of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to ensure all health insurance coverage is held to similar standards.
• Consider a national reinsurance program to stabilize health insurance markets and improve affordability of health insurance coverage.

Enacting these policy recommendations will provide immediate relief to many Americans affected by the COVID-19 crisis, provide states with flexibility to strengthen health insurance markets, remove discriminatory barriers to health coverage, protect the coverage needs of Americans with pre-existing conditions, and ensure comprehensive health insurance access is available to all Americans.

The following state insurance commissioners developed these recommendations and are committed to working with the Biden administration on its national health care plan:
Commissioner Ricardo Lara, California
Commissioner Michael Conway, Colorado
Commissioner Trinidad Navarro, Delaware
Commissioner Colin M. Hayashida, Hawaii
Director Anita G. Fox, Michigan
Temporary Commissioner Grace Arnold, Minnesota
Commissioner Andrew R. Stolfi, Oregon
Commissioner Jessica K. Altman, Pennsylvania
Health Insurance Commissioner Marie Ganim, Rhode Island
Commissioner Mike Kreidler, Washington
Commissioner Mark Afable, Wisconsin

View the Commissioners’ Letter

Governor announces Armed Forces Reserve Center will honor former Attorney General and Guard Member

Wilmington, DE – Governor Markell announced today that the state will honor the late Beau Biden, a former Attorney General and a Major in the Army National Guard, by naming Delaware’s Armed Forces Reserved Center after him. A ceremony unveiling new signage for the “Major Joseph R. (Beau) Biden III Armed Forces Reserved Center” will take place in the spring.

“Beau lived every day with a remarkable determination to making Delaware’s communities and our world a better place, from defending the country abroad to protecting children and our most vulnerable citizens as Attorney General to his dedication to family as a model husband and father,” said Markell. “It is only fitting that his name will forever be associated with an organization of men and women who go to extraordinary lengths to serve their state and country.”

Biden, who died of brain cancer in May, enlisted in the Army Guard in 2003, rising to the rank of Major. In 2008, he deployed to Iraq for a year as a member of the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade. He earned the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star for his service.

Following successful stints in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and private practice, Biden won election as Attorney General in 2006 and served two, four-year terms. His tenure was marked by strengthening state protections for children, including increased prosecution of child sex abuse, more stringent state laws, and the creation of the Child Predator Task Force and Child Victims Unit.

“Nothing made Beau more proud than putting on his uniform and reporting for duty,” said Hallie Biden, Beau’s widow. “He adored his brothers and sisters in the Delaware National Guard and what they represented in our state. The men and women who walk through the doors of this building are the finest we have – we’re honored that he will forever be associated with them.”

The state-of-the-art Armed Forces Reserve Center was dedicated in August 2014, following two years of construction on the 106,000 square foot facility that now houses the Army and Air National Guard as well as the local U.S. Navy Reserve.

The building, which was conceived to foster operational efficiency by locating similar functions together and providing servicemen and women with the most advanced technology, received gold level status in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, which recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. Features include LED lights, room occupation light sensors, dual ballast florescent lights in the hall ways that dim and illuminate based on human presence, geothermal heating and air conditioning, roof mounted solar panels, and underground water storage tanks that help eliminate storm run-off from the property.

During the week, approximately 175 Soldiers, Airmen, and Sailors occupy the building, with that number rising to more than 320 personnel on training assembly weekends.

“Like his father, Beau dedicated his life to serving the citizens of his state and country,” said Major General Frank Vavala, Adjutant General for the Delaware National Guard. “Major Biden’s exemplary commitment embodied the Citizen-Soldier concept and we could not think of anyone more deserving or worthy of having his name on this state of the art building occupied by the men and women of our military.”

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Wilmington, DE –   The Governor released the following statement after Vice President Biden announced he will not seek the Presidency:

“Joe Biden is beloved by many, not just in Delaware, but throughout the country and around the world. He connects to people on a personal level, has dedicated his life to supporting the middle class, and has provided tremendous leadership in promoting U.S. interests around the world – all of which would have made him a formidable candidate. This was a deeply personal decision and I respect the choice he has made.”

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Dover, DE – Following an announcement by the Office of the Vice President today, Governor Markell’s office issued the following statement regarding planned services to honor the life of former Attorney General Joseph Robinette “Beau” Biden III.

“President Pro Tempore Patti Blevins, Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf, Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson, House Minority Leader Danny Short and Governor Jack Markell earlier this week offered to Hallie Biden and the greater Biden family to have the Attorney General lie in honor at Legislative Hall on the afternoon of Thursday, June 4^th. While further details will be forthcoming, the Legislative Hall ceremony will allow the General Assembly, other government officials, and the Biden family’s many friends the opportunity to pay their respects.”

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   Dover – Attorney General Beau Biden announced that two Kent County men received lengthy prison sentences this morning for a brazen 2011 bank robbery and subsequent shootout with police during a car chase through Kent County.  William Sells, age 31, and Russell Grimes, age 42, were convicted on a host of charges this past May following their trial in Kent County Superior Court.

“These dangerous offenders placed the lives of scores of victims, police officers, and citizens at risk through their violent behavior and complete disregard for the law,” Biden said.  “The sentences handed down today – in which these defendants will effectively spend the rest of their lives behind bars – is necessary to protect the public and punish them for their crimes.”

On August 26, 2011, Sells and Grimes committed an armed robbery of the Felton branch of the First National bank of Wyoming.  After fleeing the bank, the defendants engaged with a shoot-out with police along an 16-mile car chase through Kent County during which multiple shots were fired, striking at least three pursuing police cruisers from the Felton and Harrington Police Departments and Delaware State Police.  Fortunately, no police officers or civilians sustained injuries during the robbery or the pursuit.  Grimes was arrested on the day of the robbery after being struck in the exchange of gunfire with police.  Sells was arrested on September 6, 2011 following a three-hour standoff with police after he was located at the Shamrock Motel off US 13 near Dover.

On May 28, 2013, following their trial in Kent County Superior Court, the Jury found both defendants guilty of multiple charges.  Russell Grimes was found guilty of Robbery, Conspiracy, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, and Reckless Endangering.  William Sells was found guilty of Robbery, Possession of a Firearm during the commission of a felony, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Wearing a Disguise During the Commission of a Felony, Aggravated Menacing, and Reckless Endangering.

Before the sentence was imposed today, Judge Robert B. Young approved a prosecution motion seeking to have both defendants sentenced under Delaware’s Habitual Offender Statute, which provides for enhanced sentences for repeat violent offenders.  Judge Young sentenced Sells to 96 years in prison and Grimes to 64 years in prison.  Because both were sentenced as habitual offenders, each defendant’s prison term is mandatory and neither will receive credit for good time while incarcerated.

This case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Susan Schmidhauser.

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