Hawaii Health Insurance
Hawaii’s health status
In terms of health, Hawaii is a state that has definitely been doing things right. It’s the second healthiest state in America, according to the United Health Foundation. After slightly slipping out of the top 10 in 2002, the Health Care policies and Health Care System in Hawaii have improved with each year, and it’s ranked as the second best of the nation in 2008. With the most public health funding per person in the country ($198 per person), and a decreasing low geographical disparity (it went down from 9.6% in 2007 to 8.8% in 2008), almost all Hawaiians have access to Health Insurance (the state has the second lowest percentage of people lacking health insurance, with only 8.2% of Hawaiians without Health Insurance).
There are also other factors that have been beneficial to Hawaii’s health status in the past year. The incidence of infectious disease decreased in 2008 to 15.6 cases per 100,000 population (it was 21.5 cases in 2007), and the immunization coverage increased 7.7% to 87.8 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations. It also helps that the air pollution is very low (ranked 2nd in the country, with only 4.9 micrograms of particles per cubic meter), and low percentages of prevalence of obesity and smoking (about 21.7% of Hawaiians are obese, and 17% are smokers, some of the lowest numbers in the nation). Overall, not only the system seems to be adequate and working, but the overall lifestyle of people in Hawaii is very healthy as well, which leads to the best rank in the country of preventable hospitalizations, only 32.3 per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
It’s safe to say that Hawaii has almost everything going in their favor. Nevertheless, there are things the Health care system can still work on. The percentage of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care is very low, one of the lowest in the nation, and the high prevalence of binge drinking at 18.1 percent of the population can also be lowered. The percentage of children in poverty also raised slightly this past year, though overall it has dropped 9.1% in the past 15 years. If they manage to control these issues as they have controlled issues like the rate of cardiovascular and cancer deaths (the best numbers in the nation), they could almost have everything going right for them.
Hawaii is, in terms of health, one of the best places to live in the United States. Health Insurance and the Health Care System is not only excellent, but it’s also highly accessible.
Hawaii health insurance information
Hawaii has one of the best percentages of people with Health Insurance, 91.5% of the citizens in Hawaii have Health Insurance, and the good news are that the number seems to keep going up, thanks to the best public health funding and adequate and accessible health insurance plans. This means that only about 8.2% of the population in Hawaii has no Health Insurance. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is also one of the top in the nation at 89.6% and it’s another reason why most Hawaiians have access to Health Care when needed. 86.2% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.
Not only Hawaii has one of the best health care systems in the country, and the best funding, but the very low geographical disparity and the good number of primary care physicians for the population help also, raising the percentage of population that could get medical care when needed to 92.6%. Despite the big percentage of people that have Health Insurance, the patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 33.6%, a high number.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Hawaii
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 Hawaii 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 Hawaii’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 HousePHONE: toll free 1-800-671-7887 (ask for the Comment Line) FAX: 1 202-456-2461 State officials:
Official Hawaii health insurance information
| Recent Hawaii health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Hawaii 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 Hawaii: |
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