More Del. women than men enrolled in Medicaid

Women outnumber men 2 to 1 in new Delaware Medicaid enrollees, which officials say signals a concerning trend around the number of women in poverty in the state.

Since Delaware expanded its Medicaid program through the Affordable Care Act in January 2014, women have overwhelmingly enrolled for benefits. New data unveiled at the monthly Delaware Health Care Commission meeting showed that at the end of January women made up 63 percent of the 9,896 new enrollees.

"It still concerns me relative to ensuring women have the opportunity to advance out of poverty," said Delaware health secretary Rita Landgraf, adding that "for every number there is a human life behind that."

"To tell you the truth I think that is just a result of many of the issues facing women," said Nina DeVoe, community relations officer for the Delaware Commission for Women.

DeVoe and other officials point to a lack of jobs and educational opportunities as well as wage equity as major drivers of the number. And though the Medicaid numbers have been consistently disproportionately favoring women over men, there are programs on the horizon that look to even the odds.

Valerie Wilson Jermusyk, associate director of United Way of Delaware and member of Delaware's chapter of the American Association of University Women, said it is important to increase education and career programming for young women early on so they don't fall into a cycle of poverty.

"So we are moving generations out of poverty," she explained.

One of the United Way's initiatives, called Successful Pathways and Roads to Careers, specifically helps young people prepare for college and the workforce by hooking them up with coaches and local companies. Stand By Me provides free, one-on-one counseling on personal finance issues and how to save money.

Since Medicaid was expanded to 138 percent of the poverty level a person needs to have a minimum annual income of $11,670 to apply. Women in the "working poor" making just barely more than minimum wage, less than their male counterparts are in a tough spot, Jermusyk said, especially if they make just enough to not qualify for Medicaid.

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How can people afford child care, let alone healthcare, DeVoe asked.

"Over time that builds up into millions of dollars in deficit as they prepare to retire," she said.

Equal Pay Day, which is on Tuesday this year, looks to raise awareness of  the pay inequity for men and women. The day symbolizes how long into the year a woman would have to work to earn the same amount as men did the previous year. Advocates will be at Legislative Hall in Dover and at the Buena Vista state building in New Castle.

Even today, statistics show that Delaware women make around 80 cents for every dollar that men make. And that figure doesn't just mean that women have less disposable income.

Poverty is the number one social determinant in health, Landgraf said. Those social determinants are driven by social structure and economics.

Health data collected from Wilmington's East Side shows how strongly poverty impacts Delawareans, particularly women.

Over 50 percent of East Side residents earn less than $15,000 a year and nearly 80 percent are on Medicaid. Just under 20 percent of adults in the community over age 25 have not completed high school.

Infant mortality rates for the area more than the U.S. infant mortality rate of 6.5 per 1,000 live births and at 14.4 per 1,000 live births is above the state percentage of 8 per 1,000 live births.

"Too often we look at this too literally," said Debra Berke, director of psychology programs at Wilmington University and AAUW member.

New programs that need to be signed off by lawmakers in Delaware's General Assembly could help women, Berke and Jermuysk said.

One proposal creates statewide after-school  programs for low-income kids, while another that would give lower-paid workers larger tax refunds from Delaware's earned income tax credit.

"Delaware is trying to attack it (poverty) on a variety of levels," Berke said. "But that's what it needs."

Jen Rini can be reached at (302)324-2386 or jrini@delawareonline.com. Follow @JenRini on Twitter.

Medicaid enrollment since expansion

January 2014

Female: 74 percent

Male: 26 percent

January 2015

Female: 64 percent

Male: 36 percent

January 2016

Female: 63 percent

Male: 37 percent