Acting under emergency powers, the State Employment Benefit Committee voted Monday to continue state retiree health plans as they are through 2023. Rates will remain the same as they were for this year. That move did not stop retirees and their ringleaders from laying into the committee in a public comment session after the vote. Thomas Pledgie told the committee …
Kowalko to file bill allowing retirees to choose health plan
State Rep. John Kowalko on Friday unveiled a bill that will allow retirees to choose between the state’s current special Medicare plan or switch to the Medicare Advantage Plan that’s triggered all kinds of angst. Kowalko, D-Newark, has spearheaded opposition to the plan, saying it will dramatically change the way retirees get their health care. The plan would …
Black doulas aim to reduce ethnic birth disparities
Adrienne Dawson’s breathing was becoming erratic and panicky as her contractions increased while she labored last month with her first child at Christiana Care. Doula Ariandra Clark leaned over and rested her hand calmly on Dawson’s chest, and they looked into each other’s eyes. “Calm down,” Clark said kindly. If Dawson kept breathing like that, she would pass out, …
COVID cases, hospitalizations rise about 50% in last month, still low
The daily average number of COVID-19 cases in Delaware has risen by 50% in the last month, but is still miniscule compared to the thousands per day in January. As of Thursday, the number of daily new cases, averaged over seven days, was 157.1, up from 94 on March 25. The number of hospitalizations was 25 Thursday, up 10 from …