DATA AND ANALYSIS In 2021, rates declined as the economy began to recover from the pandemic; however, New Castle County unemployment rates have remained above both Delaware and the U.S. Because many have employer-based health insurance coverage, continued economic recovery will be important to maintaining access to care. In recent years, the county has had a lower percentage (5.1 percent) of the population without health insurance than Delaware (5.8 percent) and the United States (8.7 percent). Delaware expanded Medicaid eligibility effective January 1, 2014. According to an analysis published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 62,500 uninsured adults became eligible for Medicaid because of the expansion. New Castle County’s crime rates have been higher than Delaware rates for serious property offenses, other property and social offenses, robbery, burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, property destruction/vandalism, and weapon law violations.
Other Local Health Status and Access Indicators Delaware is home to three counties. In the 2021 County Health Rankings, New Castle County ranked number one both for Health Outcomes and for Health Factors (above Sussex and Kent counties). Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) compares County Health Rankings indicators for each county with those for peer counties across the United States. Each county is compared to 30 to 35 of its peers, which are selected based on socioeconomic characteristics such as population size, population density, percent elderly, per-capita income, and poverty rates. In CHSI, New Castle County compared unfavorably to peer counties for 16 of the 34 benchmark indicators. New Castle County was in the bottom quartile compared to peer counties for the following indicators: • • • • • • • • •
Years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 Percent of live births with low birthweight Newly diagnosed chlamydia cases per 100,000 Percent of adults 25-44 with some college Percent unemployed Ratio of income at 80th percentile to 20th percentile Percent of children in single-parent households Reported violent crime offenses per 100,000 Average daily density of fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
Secondary data from Delaware Health and Social Services (DHSS), the Centers for Disease Control, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, and others also were assessed. Based on an assessment of available secondary data, the indicators presented in Exhibit 4 appear to be most significant in New Castle County. An indicator is considered significant if it was found to vary materially from a benchmark statistic (e.g., an average value for Delaware, for peer counties, or for the United States). For example, the deaths due to poisoning (including drug overdose) rate in the county was
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