Indiana Health Insurance
Indiana’s health status
Indiana has declined slightly in the Health Rankings for the past year, being ranked by the United Health Foundation at 34 out of 50 for 2008, falling two spots (it was ranked 32nd in 2007). This is Indiana’s lowest rank for the past 20 years, which means things need to be done differently to change things around. Factors that might have contributed to the low ranking are an increase in the percentage of children poverty (it increased from 14.3 percent to 18.8 percent of persons under age 18), and the worst public health funding in the nation, with merely $33 per person.
Public funding might be one of the key factors of the poor health status of Indiana. Despite the slight decrease in the rate, Indiana is one of the top ten states with the lowest percentage of Immunization Coverage for children ages 19-35 months. Preventable hospitalizations and primary case physicians are also ranked low, and the state is one of the biggest percent prevalence of smokers in the country, with 24.1%. Violent crime rate has also improved, along with the air pollution rate. These problems need to be looked upon, because it shows that they affect the people of Indiana (the Premature Death rate has gone up to 7,972 years lost per 100,000 population). Indiana ranks lower for health determinants than for health outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness may decline over time.
Despite the low public funding, the geographic disparity is low. This helps health care to be accessible, which shows with the fact that the percentage of the Indiana population that lack Health Insurance is low (this year it stands at 11.6%). Other factors helping the state are the low incidence of infectious disease at 9.0 cases per 100,000 population and a low geographic disparity within the state at 8.6 percent. Also, the prevalence of obesity and binge drinking has decreased from last year, as well as the percentage of cancer and cardiovascular-related deaths. This strongly indicates that although Indiana is still fighting to stabilize its health situation, progress is being made.
Indiana has to work hard to improve their current health situation. With more funding, and more adequate and accessible care, health care in Indiana should get better, and with the Health System being already accessible to the population, this would be a grand improvement.
Indiana health insurance information
About 86.3% of the citizens in Indiana have Health Insurance. Despite of the fact that the state has extremely poor government health funding, Indiana has an accessible health plan, with 11.6% of the population with no Health Insurance. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is average in this state (it stands at 55.9%), but getting better thanks to new plans and policies that help the situation of the citizens. 79.6% of workers take advantage of the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers. It’s vital to fund better Indiana’s Health Care system so it’s not only accessible, but also adequate for its citizens.
The rate of primary care physicians for the population is low (with 101.9 physicians per 100,000 population). Indiana has an average access to health, with an the percentage of population that could get medical care when needed at 85.9%. The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL is very low, and it stands at 9%.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Indiana (according to US News)
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 Indiana 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 Indiana’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 Indiana health insurance information
| Recent Indiana health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Indiana 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 Indiana: |
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