NEW CASTLE (April 22, 2024) – Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long and leaders from the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), along with partner community agencies, led a community response briefing on Monday to provide the latest outcome data and other information regarding the State’s efforts to support individuals struggling with substance use disorder in Delaware.

Organized by DHSS’ Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH), these quarterly briefings aim to inform the public about the State’s ongoing work to reduce overdoses and respond to the opioid epidemic.

The event was opened by Delaware Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, who highlighted her commitment to supporting people in Delaware struggling with substance use disorder and the providers who are the helpers in Delaware.

“As a public health nurse, I’m optimistic our efforts are having an impact on the opioid crisis here in Delaware. But the fact still remains that we have lost far too many Delawareans.” said Lt. Gov. Hall-Long, PhD, RN, research scientist and Chair of the Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium. “We’ve thrown the kitchen sink at this issue – and we are not stopping anytime soon. It has taken an all-hands-on-deck approach to get this far. As we continue forward, I want to thank the many grassroots advocates, nonprofits, state and local government agencies, our General Assembly, and especially, family members, for leaning in and collaborating on how to provide the best treatment, prevention, and recovery models for Delawareans.”

DSAMH Director Joanna Champney followed the Lt. Governor and provided information on her office’s efforts to combat overdose fatalities and the harmful impacts of substance use disorder in the community.

“We will not rest until drug poisoning and overdose deaths in our state are at zero, but we are grateful for the efforts of all of our partners to continue flattening the curve,” said Director Champney. “We will continue to focus on our strategies of reducing the negative stigma of addiction, screening individuals for opioid use disorder, offering information to healthcare providers about how to use medication to treat opioid use disorder, blanketing the state with the overdose reversal medication, targeting efforts to reach specific consumer groups, and focusing on Delaware’s addiction treatment infrastructure.”

John Evans, Director of the Division of Forensic Science, spoke about the variety of substances leading to overdose fatalities and broke down some data that demonstrated usage in the state.

Caroline Judd, MPH, Substance Use Disorder Epidemiologist with the Division of Public Health, shared data from the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) as well as other key data points related to non-fatal overdose. The links below will provide access to the full sets of data provided by Caroline Judd during the press briefing:

State Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths, Delaware, 2018 to 2022 (arcgis.com)

Non-Fatal Emergency Visits, Delaware, 2019 to 2024 (arcgis.com)

Kim Blanch, BSN, RN, Director of Community Outreach at Beebe Healthcare, and Arlene Wood, LPCHM, LCPC, NCC, Beebe Healthcare Behavioral Health Grant Director, provided detailed insight from the provider perspective of their community work. Beebe Healthcare also brought their mobile outreach vehicle and provided tours for the public in attendance to see how they perform their work in the community.

Dr. Robert Rosenbaum, M.D., FACEP, FAEMS/State Medical Director for Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness at the Division of Public Health, spoke about the use of Buprenorphine by EMS response teams as a way to save lives and serve the public.

To help address behavioral health needs of Delawareans, DHSS has several ways for individuals or their family members to connect:

• Call the 24/7 Delaware Hope Line at 1-833-9-HOPEDE or 1-833-946-7333 – a single point of contact in which callers can connect to a variety of resources and information, including support from clinicians and peer specialists plus crisis assistance.
• Stop by one of DHSS’ Bridge Clinics for an in-person assessment.
• Visit TreatmentConnection.com to find out which treatment providers are located near you.
• Visit HelpIsHereDE.com, DHSS’ one-stop website where Delawareans can search for treatment services and resources in Delaware or nearby states.
• Call 988 if the individual is in crisis and needs immediate support.
• Call 911 if someone has overdosed and needs emergency medical attention.
• Learn where to find Narcan training, get the medication through the mail, and download the OpiRescueDE App here.

NEW CASTLE (July 12, 2023) – The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announced today enhancements to the CostAware website, designed to help Delawareans understand how their health care dollars are spent by comparing the variation of average costs for different episodes of care and medical services based on actual medical claims in Delaware.

In early 2020, DHSS and the Delaware Health Care Commission began working with Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) to develop and implement various health care cost and quality analyses. These analyses leverage data in the Delaware Health Care Claims Database (HCCD), which was established through legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2016. DHIN manages the claims database and DHSS uses it to inform and support a variety of policy initiatives.

The newest CostAware enhancements include additional quality measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), generated under the Hospital Compare and Medicare Shared Savings Program initiatives, and information on the top medical procedures performed in Delaware.

• Quality measures for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) include patient rating of provider; access to timely care; appropriate treatment for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and depression; and screening rates for breast and colon cancer.
• Hospital quality measures include:
  • Patient experience, e.g., rating of nurse and doctor communications; receiving timely help; and overall experience of care.
  • Patient safety, e.g., rates of early elective deliveries, complications/readmissions after hip or knee replacement, and readmission after discharge (all causes).
• Top procedures reports show the top 10 medical procedures performed in Delaware based on both the number of claims and total spending. These reports can be filtered by gender, age group, and year.

“Since its initial launch in April 2022, CostAware has served as a valuable tool to help Delawareans understand how their health care dollars are being spent,” said DHSS Secretary Molly Magarik, who is also a member of the Delaware Health Care Commission. “These latest enhancements add yet another layer of transparency while focusing on patient experience and safety, which will further empower consumers to receive good value for their health care dollars.”

In addition to the enhanced quality measures and top procedures reports, the most recent version of CostAware (updated in March 2023) includes:

• Average cost estimates for episodes of care including C-section births, emergency department visits, knee and hip replacement, and vaginal delivery reported for named Delaware hospitals.
• Estimates of the average cost per visit for additional medical services, including child wellness visits, mental and behavioral health services, diabetes care, cardiac procedures, adult doctor visits, and lab tests (blood and urine tests).
• Results reported by type of care setting (e.g., hospital outpatient facility, outpatient lab, professional office, urgent care facility, and telehealth).
• Multiple years of data – Results are reported for 2019, 2020 and 2021.
• Trend visualizations, with multiple years of data, show changes over time in average cost, quality, and other measures.
• Improved filtering of results by insurance category (Commercial insurance, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage) and patient age range and gender (as appropriate).

“Delawareans can now see the differences in cost for very common medical procedures and services, so they can make better decisions around their health care,” said DHSS Director of Healthcare Reform Steven Costantino. “Seeing the variation in the cost, utilization, and quality of health care is critical for everyone in the system – consumers, health care providers, taxpayers, insurers and businesses.”

Early in his administration, Governor John Carney said one of the most important things he could do as Governor is to slow the growth of health care spending. In late 2018, the Governor signed Executive Order 25, establishing a state health care spending benchmark, a per-annum rate-of-growth benchmark for health care spending, and several health care quality measures. The first spending benchmark went into effect on Jan. 1, 2019, and was set at 3.8%, with the target expected to decrease gradually to 3% over the following three years. The first benchmark report measured the growth rate at 7.8% for 2019, or more than twice the 3.8% target. This has proven to be an invaluable initiative, which lead to it being codified in 2022 through House Amendment 1 for House Bill 442.

The CostAware website was developed by DHSS and the Health Care Commission in collaboration with DHIN.

DOVER, Del. – Governor Carney on Tuesday announced the administration’s child care priorities and investments for the coming year. As outlined in last week’s State of the State address, Delaware will continue to make child care policies and investments a priority.

The State will be taking the following actions to support, enhance, and expand child care quality and access this year:

• Invest over $10 million to increase Purchase of Care rates to 100% of the 75th percentile of the 2021 market rate, to better support programs and children in need.
• Pursue a policy change to expand applicant eligibility for Purchase of Care to 200% of the poverty level, to reach more children.
• Double funding going to the Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP) to $12.2 million, to serve more 3- and 4-year-olds, and provide programs with more resources.
• Allocate funding for House Bill 33, to lower preschool special education student-teacher ratios.

Additionally, Delaware won an $8 million federal Preschool Development Grant, which will help the state be innovative in strengthening its early childhood infrastructure. For more information on Delaware’s grant, please visit the Delaware Department of Education’s website.

“We know how critical the early years are to a child’s success,” said Governor Carney. “We also know how important our child care providers are to our state. Today’s significant investments in Purchase of Care, ECAP, and our youngest learners with special needs are another step forward for child care in our state. I want to thank Lt. Governor Hall-Long and others for continuing to make child care a priority. And thank you to all of our child care providers for what you do every day.”

“Children are born ready to learn. By investing in our youngest learners we are preparing them for the most critical years of brain development and giving families the opportunity and support they need to thrive,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long. “As co-chair of the Delaware Early Learning Advisory Committee, I know that these investments directly target the key recommendations that we put forth. The data are clear; critical investments early in a child’s development lead to better academic and life outcomes as they mature. Giving children the foundation they need and empowering the workforce that cares for them strengthens our state’s economy and our future.”

“The State’s investments, policy changes, and Preschool Development Grant, when taken together, signify a historic investment in our youngest learners and their families,” said Secretary Mark Holodick and Secretary Molly Magarik of the Delaware Department of Education and the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, respectively. “From increasing Purchase of Care rates and expanding applicant eligibility, to better supporting our youngest learners with special needs, to a doubling of ECAP funding, to the Preschool Development Grant, Delaware is in position to make comprehensive change for the better.”

“Every child deserves to have nurturing interactions with caretakers from birth to adulthood, and the first five years of life leave an often-irreversible imprint that can set a child up to realize their fullest potential or leave them struggling to catch up developmentally,” said Senator Laura Sturgeon. “These investments will help us ensure that more Delaware children are given the chance to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.”

“For our youngest and most vulnerable learners, so much of their future academic success hinges on their experience in their earliest school years. By making these meaningful investments in our early education system, we can ensure our students get the services and interventions they need to set them on the right path,” said Representative Kim Williams. “I commend Governor Carney for recognizing the importance of quality early childhood learning and care and I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues in the General Assembly to make this a reality for Delaware families and students.”

“Investments in early education are necessary to support working families and to promote early learning and literacy. By ensuring our most vulnerable families have access to child care, we move closer to providing an equitable start for all Delaware’s children,” said Senator Kyle Evans Gay. “But early education is also critical infrastructure, and these investments will support our economy and workforce. I applaud the Governor for his continued commitment to local economic success and making Delaware the best state to raise kids.”

“These new state and federal investments create exciting opportunities for Delaware to increase access to more families and improve the state rate for early care and education,” said Delaware Early Childhood Council chair Madeleine Bayard. “The funding will advance recommendations from the Delaware Early Childhood Council, which represents parents, community organizations, early educators, schools, and state agencies. We thank the Governor for his leadership and investments in Delaware’s workforce of today and workforce of tomorrow, and we are excited to work together to better serve new parents, early educators, and young children.”

“The administration has shown that family child care providers are essential to the Delaware workforce. We currently work 12-14 hour days to provide high-quality care and education to our children,” said Rhondalin Cannon-Tingle, family child care business owner and educator of Rhonda’s Little Angels Daycare & Preschool and Family Child Care Educator of the Year. “We desperately need increased POC rates and this additional Preschool Development Grant funding in our programs to continue to provide high-quality educational learning environments for all of our children.”

“These proposed investments in our state’s early care and education supports will bring Delaware in line with the federal recommendation, will enable child care providers to compete for workforce, and will ensure our most vulnerable children and families can access care,” said Jamie Schneider, President of the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children. “During the pandemic, Governor Carney recognized that child care providers were essential workers, and took swift action to ensure that families had continued access to care. With his proposed budget, Gov. Carney is proving once again that he supports our youngest learners and their families.”

WILMINGTON, Del. – Delaware Governor John Carney, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) today announced that Delaware will receive $11,021,366 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to strengthen the First State’s public health workforce and infrastructure.

Nationwide, the CDC is awarding $3.2 billion to help state, local, and territorial jurisdictions across the United States to provide the people, services, and systems needed to promote and protect health in U.S. communities. This includes $3 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act, legislation championed by Senators Carper, Coons and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester, for jurisdictions to recruit, retain, and train their workforce, including critical frontline public health workers such as epidemiologists, contact tracers, laboratory scientists, community health workers, and data analysts.

“Our public health workers have an important role in our state, and we are grateful for the services they provide to help keep Delawareans healthy,” said Governor Carney. “The last few years highlighted the impact that our public health team can make in our communities. These federal funds will strengthen Delaware’s public health system, and enable us to recruit and train more workers to deliver key services across our state. Thank you to the CDC and to our congressional delegation for this funding, and for supporting Delaware’s public health infrastructure.”

“The pandemic has shown us just how important strong and durable public health care infrastructure is in the First State,” said Senator Carper. “This funding – made possibly by the American Rescue Plan that I was proud to support –will go toward retaining and attracting employees into this critical sector of our workforce. As our public health systems face continuous obstacles, I am grateful that our state will be able to take the steps necessary to ensure Delaware is resilient against all future health crises.”

“When I welcomed U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to Delaware last week to speak directly with health care providers, we heard how health care providers have grappled with the turmoil of the past few years, and how those challenges have been shared by their colleagues in public health,” said Senator Coons. “This grant provides the funding necessary to strengthen public health and will equip those working in our health care community here in Delaware and throughout our nation with the resources these workers need to properly support the communities that they so proudly serve.”

“Maintaining public health is essential to the wellbeing of our state and Delaware’s Division of Public Health (DPH) is front and center in this charge,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester, member of the House Health Subcommittee. “Today’s grant announcement from the CDC will infuse federal dollars, including funds from the American Rescue Plan that Senator Carper, Senator Coons, and I championed, into DPH to strengthen and expand its public health infrastructure. With this funding, DPH will focus on the recruitment, retention, and training of its workforce so that its reach can be expanded across the state to administer vital public health services to more Delawareans. I’m proud to have played a part in bringing this funding to Delaware and look forward to how it will strengthen DPH’s efforts to keep our communities healthy.”

“We are grateful to CDC and our congressional delegation for continuing to support the critical work of our public health team, which works tirelessly day in and day out to serve and protect the residents of our state,” said Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Molly Magarik. “This additional federal funding will allow us to expand our current public health workforce, build on the enhanced infrastructure we were able to put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and strengthen our capabilities to ensure we are able to rapidly respond to any emerging health threat in the future.”

NEW CASTLE (May 4, 2022) – The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) has launched a state-sponsored Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program (HCPLRP). Under the new loan repayment program, eligible clinicians may receive up to $50,000 per year in loan repayment for a maximum of four years of employment in Delaware.

Governor John Carney signed House Bill 48 with House Amendment 1 on Aug. 10, 2021, establishing the loan repayment program administered by the Delaware Health Care Commission (DHCC). The program is a valuable tool to incentivize providers to practice in Delaware, in addition to attracting more providers to the state’s primary care workforce.

“We are grateful to Governor Carney and to the General Assembly for their support of the Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program,” said DHSS Secretary Molly Magarik. “It’s clear that we need to find ways to attract more primary care providers to practice in Delaware, and this state-sponsored program is a strategic way to do that.”

“When it comes to health care, Delawareans deserve to be treated by highly trained professionals at medical facilities statewide,” said Rep. David Bentz, the lead sponsor of House Bill 48. “However, we are facing a shortage of doctors as the demand for them grows. That’s why we passed HB 48, which offers an attractive incentive to Delaware students in residency programs here, as well as establishes an education loan repayment program for medical professionals who currently work in Delaware. With this law, we can work toward recruiting and retaining top primary care doctors. I’m grateful to the Delaware Health Care Commission for taking a leadership role in running the grant program and ensuring that we have more health care workers throughout the state, including in underserved communities.”

In Fiscal Year 2022, the General Assembly allocated $1 million in state funds to support the loan repayment program. The Delaware Health Care Commission also received, in December 2021, a $1 million one-time contribution from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware. For Fiscal Year 2023, beginning July 1, 2022, the Governor’s Recommended Budget has proposed an additional $1 million in state funds to support the program.

“The Delaware Health Care Commission is excited to be able to implement HB48 and offer health care providers, who are interested in practicing in Delaware, worked to address this crisis through the development of the Health Care Workforce Subcommittee; supporting education through Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER) and (Delaware Institute of Dental Education and Research (DIDER); providing practice sustainability through the Primary Care Reform Collaborative; and now incentivizing providers to practice in Delaware with the State Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program,” said Dr. Nancy Fan, Chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission and a practicing OB/GYN. “We are excited to be able to implement HB48 and offer primary care providers, who will be practicing in Delaware, meaningful financial relief, so they can build a sustainable practice and increase access for our patients to quality, affordable care.”

Qualifying clinicians must be a new primary care provider in an ambulatory or outpatient setting and completed graduate education within six months of the application for HCPLRP being submitted. Eligible health care providers include physicians practicing family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, geriatrics, and psychiatry as well as Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and Physicians Assistants practicing adult medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry/mental health, geriatrics, and women’s health.

Employers may apply on behalf of their affiliated, qualifying clinicians for education loan repayment grants. These sites may include:
• Hospital primary care practices
• Private practices
• Federally Qualified Health Centers
• Community outpatient facilities
• Community mental health facilities
• Free medical clinics

For awards issued to practitioners employed by Delaware health care facilities, hospitals and health systems must provide a 50% match for loan repayment awards.

Priority consideration will be given to Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER)-participating students and participants in Delaware based residency programs. Delaware is one of four states that does not have its own medical school. To accommodate the growing demand for primary care physicians across the state, the General Assembly created DIMER to support affiliated agreements with two medical schools in Philadelphia: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) and Thomas Jefferson, Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC). A minimum of 120 academic seats are reserved annually (80 at Sidney Kimmel and 40 at PCOM) for Delaware residents applying to an allopathic or osteopathic degree program. New DIMER graduates are eligible for HCPLRP.

Delaware’s Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program application is available online.

Applications are now accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed on the following schedule:
June 1, 2022*
Aug. 1, 2022*
Oct. 1, 2022

* Applicants in the June 1 and August 1 review cycles must have completed their graduate medical education by July 2021 or sometime thereafter. Applicants in the Oct. 1 review cycle must complete their graduate education by 2022 or sometime thereafter.

In addition to the state-sponsored Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program, Delaware has operated a federal state loan repayment program (SLRP) supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SLRP offers similar incentives: up to $200,000 for four-year contractual agreements to provide services in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas. Where SLRP differs from HCPLRP is in designated areas of need, eligible professional disciplines, types of health care employment facilities that qualify, and date of graduation in respective disciplines.

To learn more about Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program and the federal state loan repayment program, visit the Health Care Commission’s website.

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The Department of Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of life of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.