Arizona Health Insurance
Arizona’s health status
Arizona has remained steady in the Health Rankings for the past couple of years, being ranked by the United Health Foundation at 33 out of 50 for two years in a row now (2007 and 2008). Strong factors that have stopped the fall in the ranking of Arizona (that fell four spots in the ranking in 2006 and then regained one in 2007) is the high percentage of High School graduation, almost 85 percent (up 18.1 percent as compared to 2007’s), and a low rate of preventable hospitalizations (61.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 population), which means that the money invested in Health care in Arizona is being used properly.
Nevertheless, there are still issues to be worked on in Arizona that deal with Health Care, funding and reaching out to help. The amount of people with no Insurance coverage is one of the highest of the nation at 19.6 percent of the citizens and the access to primary care is limited with only 91 physicians per 100,000 population. Funding is also an issue, with only $50 dollars of pubic funding per person, though the amount has been increasing, thanks to new agreements and policies that are bringing more funding towards the Health Care System in Arizona. The state ranks higher for health determinants than for health outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness may increase over time, which is a good thing.
Health issues need to be watched are Obesity, that ranked lower this year (25.8 percent of Arizonans are Obese in 2008, compared to 22.9 percent in 2007), prevalence of Smoking (percentage of smokers increased 1.6% in 2008). Arizona has some of the lowest rankings in both Cancer and Cardiovascular related deaths, which is a very good thing.
Overall, Arizona’s Health System has a lot of potential, but it needs to be available to a bigger percent of the population. Funding might have been an issue in the past, but the outcome seems positive, and with the correct push, it can reach a higher percent of Arizonans.
Arizona health insurance information
About 80% of the citizens in Arizona have Health Insurance, with 19.6% of the population lacking it, a percentage that needs to be lowered with new policies and Health Care Plans. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is 55% and the good news is that it’s been going up for the past five years, with 8 out of 10 workers also taking the Health Insurance plans.
Although the access to primary Health care is still somewhat limited due to a low number of physicians, low government funding and high geographical disparity, the percentage of population that could get medical care when needed is still high at 87% and the patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 15.2%, a low number.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Arizona
The prestigious US News ranks yearly the best Health Plans in the country, polling and evaluating consumer assessment, prevention, and treatment offered by all plans. They gather information and rank the results, nation-wide and state-wide, showing on their results the best plans available for Arizona as well. The Rankings reflect results of consumer surveys and success in preventing and treating illness compared with average health plan.
Not only they rank Commercial Plans, they also rank Medicare or Medicaid plans, covering and evaluating as many plans as possible. If you want to browse their list of best-of, please go to the US News Health Plans Search site.
Get involved
If you are concerned about Arizona’s health care issues and want to speak out, your safest bet is to contact your federal official, either via phone or fax. Postal Mail is not recommended, since it takes too long, and e-mail might not be seen. Also, make sure you communicate with the right Member of the Senate and/or Congress.
If you want more guidance and tips on how to contact and communicate with your representatives, there are various sites on the internet that can help on how to contact your elected officials.
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| Contact the White House PHONE: toll free 1-800-671-7887 (ask for the Comment Line) FAX: 1 202-456-2461 State officials:
Official Arizona health insurance informationArizona State Department of Health Services - Official government Web site for department responsible for health care services for Arizonans. Arizona Department of Health Services: 150 North 18th Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85007 General and Public Information: (602) 542-1000 Fax: (602) 542-0883 Arizona Department of Insurance - Resources for consumers, insurers and producers for Arizona health insurance or medical insurance. Consumer Information from the Arizona State Department of Insurance - Health insurance topics and information geared specially for consumers. Phoenix Area: (602) 912-8444 Tucson Area: (520) 628-637 | Recent Arizona health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Arizona and their welfare. Here are some of the latest news and updates on the current issues and news related to Health and Health Insurance for Arizona: |
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