Delaware's ranking in an annual survey of the healthiest states to live in dropped from 30th in 2006 to 34th in 2007, according to UnitedHeath Foundation.
The study looked at 20 criteria in determining ranks. Delaware made it into the top ten in three: 8th in per capita spending on public health ($246); 9th in both the number of children living in poverty (up from 18th in 2006) and percent of children fully immunized.
Delaware's worst ranking (in the bottom ten) were for binge drinking, violent crime, infectious desease and infant mortality.
Also of concern is the increased percent of obesity in the state's population, up two-and-a-half percent to 26 percent from 2006 to 2007 ... that dropped its ranking from 19th to 31st in a mere twelve months.
See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Delaware.
No, Delaware does not offer a risk pool for its citizen's who are medically-uninsurable. Contact your state officials.
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 poolto 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. Find more on risk pools here.
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.
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 contribute to funding its research. Find more on the Health Policy Institute.
Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Delaware at Google News or Yahoo News.

Contact your federal officials. Phone calls are best. Faxes are good, too. Since 9-11 postal mail creates long delays, and many members of Congress simply do not take e-mail seriously -- however, since e-mail is so easy it doesn't hurt to do that, too. Members of the Senate and Congress will usually ignore any correspondence that is not from their district, so its not desirable to blanket e-mail them (this type of abuse is why many do not view it favorably). The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a guide on how to contact your elected officials, including a valuable list of dos and dont's.
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.
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.