On Nov. 25, Delaware will become the first state in the nation to require insurance carriers to cover medically appropriate developmental screenings for children between birth and age 3.

Matt Denn

Lt. Gov. Matt Denn announced the law’s enforcement date months after introducing House Bill 199, that he authored along with State Rep. Terry Schooley (D-Newark) and State Sen. Patricia Blevins (D-Elsmere). The bill was signed by Gov. Jack Markell in August, but allowed a 90-day period for insurers to prepare for its implementation.

Denn said the new law is to dramatically increase the number of children whose developmental delays are detected at a very young age when they can be successfully treated.

“Early detection is the linchpin of successfully treating children with developmental issues,” Denn said in a speech delivered at the Delaware State Council for Persons with Disabilities annual luncheon. “For kids covered by private health insurance, this change in the law is expected to double the number who we successfully diagnose with developmental delays at a very young age.”

Denn added that expanded screening has been a priority for both early childhood education advocates and disabilities advocates for a number of years.

The lieutenant governor’s office will be charged with ensuring that pediatricians and family doctors are aware of this new insurance coverage, Denn said, so that they can administer the developmental screens at appropriate ages.