The Delaware Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment “DMOST” was enacted in 2016 under HB 64 (148th). The DMOST form allows Delawareans to plan ahead for health-care decisions, express their wishes in writing, and both enable and obligate health care professionals to act in accordance with a patient’s expressed preferences. A DMOST form is different than an Advance Health-Care Directive because a DMOST form contains portable medical orders that respect the patient’s goals for care in regard to the use of CPR and other medical interventions. Currently, DMOST is being underutilized, despite efforts by advocates and the creation of a statewide, electronic registry for DMOST forms hosted by the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN). This Act will improve the utilization of DMOST forms by health-care practitioners, health-care providers, emergency-care providers, and patients and their families by creating a DMOST Program at the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS). This Act expands upon DHSS’ current responsibilities under DMOST by doing all of the following: 1. Providing ongoing education and training for health-care practitioners, health-care providers, emergency-care providers, and patients and their families. 2. Maintaining a website for information and education about DMOST. 3. Working with the DHIN to maintain the electronic registry. 4. Coordinating with the National POLST Collaborative regarding current best practices and research. (POLST, which stands for Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, was the name given to the first tool developed for honoring patients' wishes for end of life treatment in 1991.) 5. Creating a DMOST Steering Committee, consisting of a broad group of stakeholders, to evaluate and improve the DMOST Program and the use of DMOST forms. The DMOST Steering Committee must produce an annual report containing data about the use of DMOST forms, trainings, public education and outreach, and current challenges and recommendations to improve the DMOST Program. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
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This Act removes “supervision” from the scope of practice of a master’s social worker. This Act also prohibits a master’s social worker from providing supervision to a licensed clinical social worker applicant. The Board of Social Work Examiners (Board) determined that a master’s social worker lacks the education and experience needed to provide clinical supervision. Under this Act, an applicant for licensure as a licensed clinical social worker may still obtain supervision from a licensed psychologist or licensed psychiatrist where a licensed clinical social worker is not available, under the Board’s rules and regulations. This Act also adds a grandfathering provision so that an applicant or licensed clinical social worker who started or completed supervision with a master’s social worker on or before the enactment date of this Act satisfies the supervision requirement under § 3907(b)(4) of this title as long as the applicant or licensed clinical social worker is otherwise in compliance with § 3907(b)(4) of this title. The grandfathering provision also allows a master’s social worker who is supervising an applicant as of the enactment date of this Act to continue supervision under the applicant completes the 2-year supervised experience requirement.
This Act changes Delaware’s law related to liability insurance for rental vehicles. Under the Act, the minimum level of coverage required for a vehicle owner’s policy of liability insurance under § 2902 of this title is also required for a vehicle owner’s rental of a vehicle. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Maddy summaryThis bill clarifies the definition of a "United States military pension" for Delaware state tax purposes, ensuring that income from service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, NOAA, Public Health Service, or National Guard is treated correctly. The change specifically affects how taxpayers under age 60 calculate their tax-exempt income limits starting in the 2022 tax year, creating a distinct category for military pensions separate from other employer or state pensions. By explicitly listing the branches of service included, the legislation provides clearer guidance to military retirees and their families on which income qualifies for exclusion from taxable earnings.
Senate Bill 67, from the first session of the 152nd General Assembly, updated the crime of official misconduct. Senate Bill 67 intended to change the penalty for official misconduct from a class A misdemeanor to a graded system, where the penalty is commensurate to the gravity of the misconduct. This Act makes the following modifications to ensure legislative intent is achieved: (1) The original penalty in § 1211 was not stricken by SB 67. Therefore, it remains in Code as an impermissible floating paragraph under paragraph (a)(5) of § 1211. Despite the addition of the new graded penalty system in SB 67, the floating paragraph states that official misconduct is punishable as a class A misdemeanor. This Act deletes the floating paragraph so that § 1211 is correctly interpreted as imposing a graded penalty system. (2) Paragraph (b)(3) of § 1211 adds “but less than $50,000.” to the end of the description of what constitutes a class F felony. Otherwise, there would be overlap between what dollar amount of harm caused or value received constitutes a class F felony, a class D felony, and a class B felony. (3) Restructures subsection (b) by adding introductory language to clarify when enhanced sentences apply. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act creates the Delaware Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Service Act. The Act provides compensation and reintegration services to individuals who have served sentences of incarceration, wrongful incarceration in a psychiatric institution, parole, probation, and sex offender registration in the State for crimes that they did not commit. An individual claiming wrongful conviction or, if deceased, that individual's heirs, may bring a petition for compensation in Delaware Superior Court. A petitioner who makes the required showing is entitled to damages based on the type and period of wrongful incarceration, probation, parole, or registration, and other amounts, such as reasonable attorney fees in obtaining relief, subject to requirements of proof. However, a petitioner is not entitled to such compensation if the Department of Justice establishes that the petitioner was an accomplice in the commission of the crime or that the petitioner intentionally and voluntarily caused the conviction at issue by committing perjury or fabricating evidence at trial in order to prevent the conviction of the true perpetrator. In addition, an individual released from incarceration as the result of the reversal, overturning, or vacation of a conviction is entitled to emergency assistance and services. Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 differs from SS 2 for SB 169 in that it provides that a petitioner who served time in a psychiatric institution is eligible to apply for relief. Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 also provides that in all cases, in order to be compensated, a petitioner must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner did not commit the crime that resulted in the conviction or that there was no crime committed. This provision differs from Senate Substitute 2, which required this showing only for a petitioner who entered a Robinson plea or entered a plea of no contest. In addition, Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 provides that persons who were pardoned are not eligible for post-release services under the Act. Finally, Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 provides that any award under the Act must be offset by any amounts the petitioner has recovered in a civil action or settlement of a civil action for wrongful conviction or imprisonment. If, after receiving an award under the Act, a petitioner subsequently recovers in such a civil action or settlement, the petitioner must reimburse the State to the extent of the amounts awarded in the civil action or settlement of the civil action.
This Act is the product of the work of stakeholders who, with the encouragement of Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 50 (152nd General Assembly), met to examine how to integrate mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine into existing regulatory structures in this State. Mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine are innovative patient-centered models for the delivery of health care services that utilize mobile resources to deliver care and services to patients in an out-of-hospital environment in coordination with healthcare facilities or other healthcare providers. As part of mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs, emergency medical services provider agencies across the country of all sizes and types are partnering with hospitals, primary care physicians, nurses, and mental health and social services providers on innovative programs that both navigate patients to the right level of care as well as achieve goals of improved care and lower costs. Clinical research studies comparing patients in traditional hospitals with patients who received hospital-level care at home through mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs have found that those who received in-home care experienced fewer readmissions, lower mortality rates, reduced falls, and higher patient satisfaction rates. Based on temporary federal law enacted to relieve strain on healthcare systems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in this State developed relationships with emergency medical services provider agencies to implement mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs. However, this temporary federal authorization will end on December 31, 2024. Many states have acted ahead of the expiration of this federal authorization to incorporate mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs into existing regulatory structures. This Act integrates mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs into existing regulatory structures in this State by authorizing the establishment of mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs in this State through the Office of Emergency Medical Services (“Office”) in the Department of Health and Social Service’s Division of Public Health (“Division”). Specifically, this Act does the following: (1) Authorizes an organization licensed as or actively seeking licensure as an emergency medical services provider agency to apply to the Office to establish a mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine program. (2) Requires the Office to review applications to establish mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine programs and make recommendations to the Director of the Division, who is required to approve applications that meet the requirements established by this Act and regulations adopted by the Office. (3) The Office is required to establish standards, approved by the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, for the establishment and operation of mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine programs This Act takes effect immediately for purposes of the Office of Emergency Medical Services preparing to implement this Act, but is not implemented until the date of publication in the Register of Regulations of a notice by the Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services that the Office is prepared to implement this Act. The changes to the definition section, § 9802 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code, in Sections 2 and 3 of this Act are identical. These changes had to be made twice as § 9802 of Title 16 currently has 2 versions, one effective until July 17, 2028, and one effect as of July 17, 2028. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and, in Section 5 of this Act, to correct an internal reference in § 6701B of Title 18 of the Delaware Code affected by changes in Sections 2 and 3 of this Act.
This Act modernizes and expands the concept of maternal mental health by replacing the definition of maternal depression with the more encompassing definition of perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. This Act contemplates treatment for any caregiver who may be affected by perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. This Act avoids use of gender-based pronouns as recommended by the Legislative Drafting Manual.
Pharmacists in Delaware provide some of the same medical services as physicians, advance practice registered nurses, and physician assistants, including immunizations. The General Assembly has recently added to the services that pharmacists may provide, including prescribing birth control, testing and treating for a variety of conditions, and prescribing pre-exposure and post-exposure HIV prophylaxis. However, health insurance plans do not currently recognize pharmacists as a provider type that may seek reimbursement for these services, despite already providing coverage for the same services if they were obtained from other providers. This could lead to many pharmacists not providing such expanded services due to the lack of insurance coverage. This Act requires health insurance providers to provide the same reimbursement to pharmacists that is already provided other providers performing the same services at the same rates as advance practice registered nurses and physician assistants. This bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act updates House Bill 455 from the 151st General Assembly by providing the same legal protections afforded providers of contraceptive and abortion services to providers of fertility treatment. In summary, this Act does the following: (1) Clarifies that medical professionals who provide fertility treatment care cannot be disciplined for such services even if such services are illegal or considered to be unprofessional conduct or the unauthorized practice of medicine in another state, so long as such services are lawful in this State; (2) Prohibits health care providers from disclosing communications and records concerning fertility treatment without the patient’s authorization in any civil action or proceeding, with some exceptions; (3) Protects health care providers from out-of-state civil actions relating to fertility treatment that is legal in Delaware, including the issuance of a summons or the enforcement of subpoenas relating to such cases; (4) Creates a cause of action for recouperation of out-of-state judgments relating to fertility treatment that is lawful in Delaware; and (5) Prohibits insurance companies from taking any adverse action against health care professionals who provide fertility treatment and services.