Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services releases its third annual report comparing changes in health care spending and outcomes against pre-set goals.
The report looks back to 2021 – the most recent year with complete data – and captures changes in Delaware’s healthcare market as some pandemic lockdown measures phased out.
The state set a goal of a 3.25 year-over-year increase in per capita health care spending for 2021; instead, it rose more than 11 percent, surpassing $9,000 per capita.
DHSS Secretary Molly Magarik told the Delaware Health Care Commission last week that the state’s benchmark didn’t anticipate the impacts of COVID on the healthcare marketplace – in 2020, per-capita spending fell by more than 1 percent.
“When we saw a negative for calendar year 2020, plus our lived experience of deferred care, delayed care, or inability to get into care because we were so focused on treating COVID, it’s not surprising that the spending activity was going to come back," she said.
Magarik says per-capita health care spending may stabilize in the next several years.
She also notes the state’s goal for opioid overdose fatalities – 14.7 per 100,000 people – reflects pre-fentanyl assumptions.
“We feel a little stuck with this number, because we don’t want it to be as high as it is, but realistically, 14.7 is way too low with fentanyl in the mix," she said.
In 2021, Delawareans died from overdoses at a rate of 48 per 100,000 residents – a rate that continues to rise. Magarik says settling on a higher goal could be painful, but the current state benchmarks are unrealistic.
A handful of indicators are trending in positive directions; emergency room utilization, for instance, is declining slightly.
