Iowa Health Insurance
Iowa’s health status
Iowa has always had a very respectable health system. According to America’s Health Rankings in 2008, Iowa is the 15th healthiest state in the US. Although dropping from one spot (it was ranked 14 in 2007, and since 2005 it has been dropping positions in the ranking), it’s a state with strong health features, such as the second best infant mortality rate in the country (only 5 deaths per 1,000 live births), and a low percentage of Iowans lacking Health Insurance (only about 10% of the population lack Health Insurance, despite the low funding and extremely low ratio of primary care physicians per 100,000 population). The state also has one of the best percentages of High School graduations (86.6% of incoming ninth graders graduates High School).
Iowa’s health care system is poorly funded (though slightly improving, the public health funding in the state is only $45/person, the sixth worst in the nation) and working with a limited number of physicians (the third state with the least number of primary care physicians per 100,000 people), but despite these factors, it seems to be accessible to the population, as the percentage of Iowans with Health Insurance is still very high at 89.9%. Nevertheless, there are several key factors to be worked upon, to improve overall healthiness within the state, like the extremely high percentage of binge drinkers (at 20.2%, it’s the third worst in the nation), as well as the percentage of obese people, which has gone up almost five percent in the past five years. An alarming factor that needs to be looked upon is the decrease in the percentage of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunization, which is down by 5.1% in one year alone. If these issues are looked upon appropriately, the health care system can easily climb back into the country’s top ten.
Iowa is overall a very good and healthy state, being in the top 15 states in the country. Proof of this is the prevalence of smoking decreasing from 28.1 percent to 19.8 percent of the population in the past 18 years, and a decrease of children in poverty. Adequate prenatal care is also very good, with 80% of pregnant women receiving proper prenatal care, which also shows in the low infant mortality rate. Infectious disease cases are also very low, at only 6.2 per 100,000 population. The premature death rate, though increasing slightly, is still one of the lowest of the nation. Iowa ranks lower for health determinants than for health outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness may decline over time.
Iowa is a healthy state, with a few issues that need to be looked upon to better their health. Public funding needs to be stronger, as well as the number pf primary care physicians. But despite these challenges, Iowa is and has been a very good place to live in terms of health.
Iowa health insurance information
Iowa has one of the best percentages of people with Health Insurance, 91.3% of the citizens in Iowa have Health Insurance, despite the poor government funding, which means that Iowa has adequate and accessible health insurance plans. Only about 9% of the population in Iowa has no Health Insurance. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is not very high (it stands at 47.9%, one of the lowest percentages in the nation) and 79% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.
Despite the poor public health funding and the very low rate of primary care physicians for the population, Iowa has a very good and accessible health system, with an excellent percentage of population that could get medical care when needed (92.2%). 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 12.8%, a low number.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Iowa
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 Iowa 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 Iowa’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 Iowa health insurance information
| Recent Iowa health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Iowa 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 Iowa: |
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