Delaware

Current employees and retirees could see less generous state benefits

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2024

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Current employees and retirees could see less generous state benefits

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This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Delaware is considering sweeping changes to the health benefits for current and retired state employees to counter significant unfunded liabilities.

The Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory subcommittee, chaired by Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, presented final recommendations for future hires and including current retirees to the Legislative Joint Health Committee earlier this week. The State Employee Benefits Committee also met to consider options to soften the blow of a 27% premium rate hike for current state employees.

The liability for Other Post-Employment Benefits, which are largely health benefits other than pensions, is $8.9 billion — of which $8.4 billion is unfunded. Officials said the net unfunded liability could grow to as much as $20.7 billion by 2042 if it’s not addressed.

The RHAS subcommittee was created in 2023 after an attempt by the state employee benefits committee to move 25,000 retirees to a Medicare Advantage Plan through Highmark Delaware. Some people who were upset by the planned change formed the advocacy group RiseDelaware and successfully sued the state to block the implementation.

Superior Court Judge Calvin Scott temporarily stayed the state’s decision in October 2022, saying, “This court cannot agree with the sentiment that the need for prior authorization for over 1,000 procedures and the use of only in-network doctors is the same level of benefits retirees obtained with the current policy.”

The subcommittee made several recommendations, including not utilizing a Medicare Advantage plan. It also proposed increasing OPEB pre-funding from 0.36% of payroll to 0.5%, then increasing it by an additional 0.25% of payroll each fiscal year until it reaches 10%. It also urged lawmakers to continue contributing 1% of the general fund from the prior year to the OPEB fund.

It also put forward changes to the length of service and the percentages paid by the state accordingly for Medicare-eligible retirees’ health care premiums hired on or after Jan. 1, 2025.

Delaware Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory subcommittee Chair Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long presents the committee’s recommendations to the Legislative Joint Health Committee. (Sarah Mueller/WHYY)

“I want Delaware to be the place people live, work, raise their families. And we want good state employees … because it’s our roads, it’s our schools. It’s our health system — every facet of daily life,” Hall-Long said. “Business is affected by how efficient our culture of excellence [is] in our status and our culture of excellence is only going to be as good as our employees. We need to make sure that we have the funding in place.”

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Delaware

Delaware will save more than $300M after federal tax decoupling takes effect

Published

4 hours ago

December 16, 2025

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Delaware will save more than 0M after federal tax decoupling takes effect

The fiscal year 2027 forecast remained relatively flat from the October meeting. But some expenses declined, including salaries for teachers. Brian Maxwell, state director of Management and Budget, said teacher salary expenses were down because student enrollment has dropped. He said federal immigration policy could be impacting the state’s Multilingual Learners.

“Obviously, there have been a number of students that may not be showing up to class just because of the enforcement of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” he said. “So some of the families may be scared to actually send their kids to school.”

Maxwell said overall enrollment is down, but the number of students needing special education services is up. The next student count is in February.

DEFAC members also discussed the revised Healthcare Spending benchmark. In September, the subcommittee devised a methodology that only used healthcare inflation, resulting in a 7.13% for 2026.

“We all gathered in October and there was a fair amount of concern with that outcome,” said Christen Linke Young, director of Health and Social Services. “So the subcommittee reconvened earlier this month to consider a new approach.”

After adopting the methodology using expected national inflation data and a three-year measure of health care cost growth, the benchmark now sits at 4.9%. But Young said there would be no penalty for hospitals exceeding the guideline.

Gov. Meyer and the state’s largest nongovernmental employer, ChristianaCare Health System, reached an agreement earlier this year in a lawsuit the regional hospital system filed last year. The Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board was created by lawmakers in June 2024 to try to rein in hospital spending. But the agreement, which requires new legislation and the governor’s signature, would strip the board of its authority to approve and modify hospital budgets.

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Delaware

Snow melting soon as Delaware warms after icy blast

Published

16 hours ago

December 15, 2025

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Snow melting soon as Delaware warms after icy blast

Delaware may have seen its first snowfall of the season, but it won’t stick around for long.

Despite below freezing temperatures Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, it’s possible that by the weekend there won’t be a trace of snow.

Here’s what to know about this week’s weather and snow melt.

When will the snow melt away?

While Delaware will face freezing temperatures Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, the National Weather Service forecast is calling for a warmup starting on Dec. 17. Here’s the forecast:

New Castle County

Cold weather will continue this evening and into Dec. 16 with lows dropping into the teens. The county will hit 32 degrees on Dec. 16 before dropping to 22 that night. Temperatures start climbing into the low 40s with partly sunny skies on Dec. 17. Highs will hit 51 degrees on Dec. 18. If most of the snow hasn’t melted by that point, it should be gone after rain goes through the area during the overnight between Dec. 17 and Dec. 18. Highs will remain above freezing, hitting 44 on Dec. 18.

Kent County

Lows will drop into the teens overnight before climbing above freezing on Dec. 16. On Dec. 17, Kent County will see partly sunny skies with highs in the upper 40s. It will be mostly cloudy on Dec. 18 with highs hitting 55. There’s a 90% chance of rain during the overnight hours into Dec. 19. The 19th is looking mostly cloudy with highs reaching 47.

Sussex County

After lows hit 19 during the overnight tonight, the high for Dec. 16 will be 38 degrees with sunny skies. Any snow in the southern part of the state will vanish Dec. 17 and Dec 18. Both days will feature sunny skies with highs reaching the low 50s on Dec. 17 and almost hitting 60 on Dec. 18.

What is black ice?

Despite the warm up, overnight temperatures are expected to be below freezing. If you are driving at night, you’ll need to watch out for black ice.

According to The Weather Channel, black ice is a thin layer of ice that forms on roads and is difficult to see. It’s generally found on bridges, overpasses and spots on the road shaded by trees or other objects.

If roadways are wet from rain, snow or fog and temperatures drop below 32 degrees, black ice can form on roadways.

If you hit black ice, you should do the following:

Keep your steering wheel straight.
Do not brake
Take your foot off the accelerator to reduce speed

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Delaware

Delayed openings in Delaware: What schools are starting late?

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

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Delayed openings in Delaware: What schools are starting late?

Potentially icy road conditions have led every public school in Delaware to announce delayed openings for Dec. 15.

Every public school is operating on some sort of delay, most of which are two hours. The Delaware Department of Transportation already sent out a warning about treacherous driving conditions. Whatever has not dried from the Dec. 14 snowstorm will freeze over as temperatures plunge into the 20s and winds kick up over night.

The following school districts have announced delays.