Doctor in healthcare

Benefits subcommittees examine rising costs of health care

Sam Haut Government, Headlines

Two state health subcommittees focused Monday on the rising cost and utilization of health care. Those costs are the basis of predictions about how many healthcare services employees and retirees will use and are used to determine insurance premiums and more. At a joint SEBC Financial and Health Policy & Planning Subcommittee meeting Monday,  Chris Giovannello of Willis Towers Watson …

Auto-injectors like the EpiPen

Delaware House passes bill to make EpiPens more affordable

Sam Haut Government, Headlines

The Delaware House unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would require Delaware insurance plans to cover epinephrine auto-injectors for everyone. Today in Delaware, epinephrine is only guaranteed to people 18 years or younger. If House Bill 54 passes the Senate, all Delawareans would be guaranteed at least one injector in the lowest tier of their insurance. The bill would …

Kowalko Schwartzkopf

2022 Rewind: Kowalko says House Speaker killed IG bill

Charles Megginson Government, Headlines

This story was originally published in July 2022. An outgoing Democratic member of the Delaware House of Representatives says House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf blocked his bill to create an office of the inspector general.  Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, said the move was typical of Schwartzkopf’s leadership style. That leadership style can be characterized by “coercion, intimidation, incentivizing and reward,” Kowalko …

Melissa Minor Brown

Melissa Minor-Brown: ‘I stand on the shoulders of giants’

Charles Megginson Government, Headlines

When state Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown won election to the General Assembly in 2018, she knew right away that she wanted to be in leadership.  The Democrat from New Castle got her wish this November when the House Democratic Caucus elected her majority whip, making her the first person of color in Delaware history elected to a leadership position in the …

Delaware lawmakers to be sworn in Jan. 10, 2023

Lawmakers take oaths Jan. 10 but already working

Charles Megginson Government, Headlines

Even though Delaware’s state senators and representatives won’t be formally sworn in until Jan. 10, their work begins the day after election day — and so do their paychecks.  Delaware is one of just four states where lawmakers assume office the day after an election. Three other states’ lawmakers assume office on election day, while eight others assume office sometime …

GOP delaware 1

ICYMI: Delaware GOP needs to change, leaders say

Charles Megginson Headlines, Government

Republicans did not fare well in Delaware’s Nov. 8 election. Democrats widened their majority in the state Senate, maintained the balance of power in the House, and won every election for statewide elected offices. In the wake of the Republican wallop, some party leaders are hoping the party will begin to move in a more productive direction — one that …

Kowalko Schwartzkopf

Kowalko: House Speaker killed inspector general bill

Charles Megginson Government, Headlines

An outgoing Democratic member of the Delaware House of Representatives says House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf blocked his bill to create an office of the inspector general.  Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, said the move was typical of Schwartzkopf’s leadership style. That leadership style can be characterized by “coercion, intimidation, incentivizing and reward,” Kowalko said, and the inspector general bill is just …

Leg Hall

$69.4 million grant-in-aid bill signed by Carney

Betsy Price Government, Headlines

The Delaware Senate passed a $69.4 million grant-in-aid bill about 6 p.m. Thursday, just hours before it was set to end the annual session of the Delaware General Assembly. Two hours later, the House passed it, too, making the bill’s next stop the desk of Gov. John Carney, where he signed it June 30. Senate Bill 252, sponsored by Sen. …

2023-24 budgets signed by Carney

Delaware’s 2023 budget signed, starts July 1

Betsy Price Government, Headlines

  On the wings of another staggering surplus, Gov. John Carney on Tuesday signed the $5.1 billion 2023 operating budget for Delaware. It takes effect Friday, July 1. The operating budget, Senate Bill 250, is the largest in Delaware’s history, reflecting a rise in spending of 6.9% in spending over the previous year. It also will increase Delaware’s Rainy Day …

House Administration Committee meeting

Bill to create Delaware inspector general moves forward

Ken Mammarella Government & Politics, Headlines

A bill to establish an “independent and nonpartisan” inspector general’s office moved forward Wednesday in a Delaware House committee. The House Administration Committee also moved along a bill to encourage filming in the state by offering tax credits. The committee started discussion to create a constitutional right of a clean environment, but, citing time, continued discussion to Thursday’s committee meeting, …