Having a baby in Delaware

Program

Delaware Medicaid

Agency

Delaware Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance

Medicaid limit

217% of the poverty level

12-month postpartum coverage since

July 1, 2022

Presumptive eligibility

Not for the pregnancy group, but hospitals can still make presumptive determinations.

Hospitals in every state may make presumptive eligibility determinations.

Delaware pays 80% of wages, up to $900 a week, for up to 12 weeks to bond and up to 6 weeks of medical leave, 12 weeks combined. Benefits started January 1, 2026; you need 12 months and 1,250 hours with an employer of 10+ workers.

Program

Delaware Paid Leave (Delaware Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program)

Legal maximum, your own health

6 weeks

Paying since

January 1, 2026

Pay

80% of your average weekly wages over the prior 12 months; min $100/week (or your full wage if you earn less); max $900/week in 2026 and 2027.

Job protection

Yes, in the Paid Leave law: covered employees must be restored to the same job or one with equivalent seniority, status, pay and benefits, and health coverage continues during leave. You only qualify (and are protected) after 12 months and 1,250 hours with your current employer, and only if that employer has 10+ employees in Delaware (10-24 employees: parental leave only).

Who qualifies

You must work primarily in Delaware, for an employer with at least 10 Delaware employees, and have worked for that employer at least 12 months and 1,250 hours (about 25 hours/week) in the last 12 months. Employers with 10-24 employees only have to provide parental (bonding) leave; 25+ employees must also provide medical, family caregiving and military leave. Part-time or short-term workers may be put on a waiver and excluded. No self-employed opt-in found in the law.

Notes

Claims began Jan. 1, 2026. A birthing mom gets at most 12 paid weeks in a 12-month application year, whatever the mix: up to 12 weeks of parental leave per year, plus medical leave of up to 6 weeks per 24 months (and medical leave only if your employer has 25+ employees). Pregnancy or childbirth recovery would come from that 6-week medical bank, and DDOL gives no recovery-length guidance. The tenure test is tied to your current employer, so changing jobs means a new 12-month wait before you can claim. Parental leave must be taken continuously unless your employer's policy allows otherwise, and it must be used before the child's first birthday. If both parents work for the same employer, the employer may cap the two of you at 12 weeks combined (19 Del. C. 3703(b)). Employers with fewer than 25 employees may elect, with notice, a parental-leave limit for 5 years from the start of benefits (19 Del. C. 3703(f): 'for each employee to exercise not less than half of the employee's parental leave'), so ask your employer whether it made this election. After 2027 the $900 max is CPI-adjusted. Employers may use an approved private plan. Funding: 0.8% of wages, and employers may deduct up to half from pay.

The weekly maximum is a ceiling, not a typical benefit. Checked October 2026. Amounts usually change January 1 and July 1, so confirm with the state before you plan.

In Delaware, Medicaid pays for up to five lactation counseling sessions per child from licensed clinicians who also hold IBCLC or CLC certification.

Who can bill

physician; nurse practitioner; physician assistant; nurse-midwife; registered nurse

Where

outpatient; telehealth

Visit limits

Limit of five counseling sessions per child; each session unit limited to 90 minutes; may be exceeded based on medical necessity

IBCLCs can enroll on their own

No

Notes

Delaware Medicaid added a Lactation Counseling Services policy to its Practitioner manual (revision dated 03/17/2026) and announced it in its first-quarter 2026 provider bulletin. Counseling must be given by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, nurse midwife or registered nurse who also holds CLC or IBCLC certification, so an IBCLC without one of those licenses can't enroll on that basis. Sessions last at least 30 minutes, in person or by telehealth, and no prior authorization is required. A May 2025 state notice said Delaware Medicaid then covered lactation counseling only during an inpatient stay. Members in managed care get practitioner services through their plan.

Delaware Medicaid member information

Full-time provider prices before any subsidy, in 2022 dollars. The national median for center infant care was $12,647 a year. 3 county infant center prices were not surveyed in 2022; DOL estimated them from the price trend between other survey years.