Delaware Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Delaware?

Delaware was ranked as the 32nd healthiest state in the union, according to the 2009 version of America's Health Rankings, commissioned by the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• Delaware leads the nation in the category of Geographic Disparity, which which measures the variation among the overall mortality rates among the counties within a state.
• The state was rated among the top 10 states for having a low number of poor mental health days per month.
• The study also praised Delaware for having low rates of children in poverty (13.6 percent) and residents who lacked health insurance (11 percent).

The bad news:

• The had bottom-10 rankings in seven of the 22 "core" categories.
• The state's worst rankings were for a high prevalence of binge drinking, air pollution, high infant mortality rate and a high violent crime rate – the fourth worst in the nation.

The state's best and worst category ratings:

• Geographic disparity – 1st
• Poor mental heatlh days – 9th
• Children in poverty – 10th
• Lack of health insurance – 12th
• Immunization coverage – 41st
• Cancer deaths – 41st
• Prevalence of binge drinking – 45th
• Infectious disease – 45th
• Infant mortality – 45th
• Air pollution – 47th
• Violent crime offenses – 47th

See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Delaware.

Does Delaware have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

No, Delaware does not offer its own risk pool for its citizens who are medically uninsurable.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Delaware will offer health 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.

Cover The Uninsured's guide on finding health insurance in Delaware

Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in Delaware and all other states.
• Its guide on how to find health insurance in Delaware.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Delaware

Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute has researched and written state-by-state guides for finding and keeping health insurance. It updates these guides as federal and state policies change. A number of non-profit organizations help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Delaware.

USNews health insurance rankings for Delaware

US News does an annual ranking of what it considers the best health insurance plans in each state. Visit its reports on various health insurance or medical insurance plans being offered in Delaware.

Official State Goverment Sites with Delaware Health Insurance Information

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.

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

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.