Committee approves resolution asking DMMA to report on Medicaid coverage for community health worker services by Jan. 1, 2026

The House Health Committee on Wednesday voted to release Senate Joint Resolution 2, a resolution requiring the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA) to present to the Delaware General Assembly, by Jan. 1, 2026, a report and plan for providing insurance coverage for community health worker (CHW) services through Medicaid plan amendment or Section 1115 waiver as appropriate. Representative Kaye Smith sponsored the resolution.

Sponsor remarks and testimony from multiple CHWs and health care organizations emphasized that CHWs are frontline liaisons who provide culturally and linguistically competent outreach, education, care coordination and social support, and that sustainable funding is needed because many Delaware CHW programs now run on time-limited grants. The resolution asks DMMA to deliver a report to the Governor and to the members of the General Assembly, with copies to the director and librarian of the Division of Research and Legislative Council and to Delaware Public Archives.

Representative Kaye Smith described CHWs as “trusted members of the community” who guide individuals and families through health, social and community service systems. Committee members debated whether the resolution should require a “report and plan” or only a “report,” because implementing a Medicaid reimbursement plan could depend on federal approval. Representative Jones Giltner noted that a Section 1115 waiver application and approval can take “5 months to 2 years,” and questioned whether the January 2026 deadline was achievable if the report were required to include an executable plan. Senator Pinkney, a co-sponsor who joined remotely, responded that the resolution asks DMMA to specify what a plan would look like and that DMMA would retain discretion on timing and execution.

DMMA was represented in the remote record by a speaker identified as Dr. Upadia, who said DMMA would study oversight and governance questions and “identify what would be the oversight, governing body for community health workers, to be enrolled as Medicaid providers.” Committee members asked that the final report coordinate with the Division of Professional Regulation; a committee member requested explicit language requiring DMMA to consult with professional regulation in the report.

More than a dozen witnesses gave in-person testimony in support of the resolution. Witnesses and organizations included:

- Erin Rideout of the Community Health Worker Association of Delaware, who said CHWs are “frontline public health workers who support your constituents as they navigate Delaware's health care, social, and community services systems” and noted national and local research showing CHWs reduce costly health care use.

- Christina Bridal of the Delaware Healthcare Association, who said the measure supports DHA’s priorities of strengthening the health care workforce, improving access and quality, and advancing health equity.

- Tisha Jackson, a CHW with Child, Inc., who said CHWs work “outside the walls of the health system, embedded in the community where health happens” and urged the committee to prioritize sustainable funding.

- Ama Pansa of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, who said the coalition’s Domestic Violence CHW Program has served more than 700 survivors with an average engagement of 10 months and that 83% of those survivors have at least one child in their care.

- Adriana Viverasosa, Brianna Bay, Symone Silver of ChristianaCare, and Mignaliz Nanivega Morales, each of whom testified about CHWs’ roles in addressing social determinants of health and connecting underserved residents to services.

Committee members and several witnesses pointed out that 24 states currently fund CHWs through Medicaid while Delaware does not; witnesses urged the resolution as a step toward sustainable funding. A committee member asked for the report to include an analysis of how any federal waiver or plan would meet federal budget-neutrality requirements.

A motion to release the resolution was made by Representative Johnson and seconded by Representative Veil. The committee conducted a roll call vote; recorded votes in favor included Representatives Chiquucha, Neal, Burns, Johnson, Morrison, Ross Levin, Kaye Smith, Snyder Hall, Jones Giltner, Hensley, Halski, Postals and Mike Smith. Representatives Harris, Heffernan and Shoop were recorded as absent. The motion carried; the resolution will be presented from committee to the full House.

The committee asked that DMMA’s study address oversight, provider enrollment pathways, coordination with professional regulation, and contingencies related to federal approval timelines. The resolution does not itself change Medicaid reimbursement but directs DMMA to report options and potential paths for coverage.