Massachusetts Health Insurance
Massachusetts’s health status
Massachusetts is a state that seems to be doing everything right when it comes to health. It’s the 6th healthiest state to live in the US according to America’s Health Rankings by the United Health Foundation, climbing up three spots from its #9 rank of last year. One of the biggest improvements this past year is the increase of public health funding, which is now one of the 11th highest in the nation, at $119 per person. It also helps that Massachusetts is the state with the best rate of Primary care Physicians, with 189.1 physicians for every 100,000 people. These two factors help Massachusetts be the state with the most accessible health care in the country, with the lowest percentage of people that lack health insurance (only 7.9% of the Massachusetts population doesn’t have Health Insurance plans).
Other highlights for the state includes the lowest occupational fatalities rate in the nation, at 3.3 deaths per 100,000 workers, a low prevalence of obesity (second lowest in the nation, with only 21.7% of the population), and also the lowest geographic disparity within the state in the country, at 6.2%. Low premature death rate is also the second lowest in the nation, with 5,801 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population. The state’s infant mortality rate and cardiovascular-related deaths rate are very low. Immunization coverage for children is extremely good, with almost 84% of children ages 19 to 35 months having immunization coverage. Nevertheless, this percentage has decreased over the past year (when Massachusetts had the best percentage in the country, now is #8). Adequate prenatal care has also been decreasing slightly, which needs to be looked upon.
Although the health system works wonderfully within the state, there is still room for even more improvement. The state has a high prevalence of drinking (17.7% of its population), and an increasing percentage of children living in poverty (it went up 2.5% to 17.1% in 2008). It also has a high rate of preventable hospitalizations with 79.9 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees. Cancer-related deaths percentages, though still decreasing (they reached 196.4 deaths per 100,000 population this year) need to be monitored.
Overall, Massachusetts is a great place to live, in terms of health. Not only the state receives adequate funding, and has the best ready access to primary care, but the overall lifestyle of its population is healthy. With only small issues that need to be worked on, the system has great potential to improve in the future.
Massachusetts health insurance
Massachusetts has the best percentage of health insurance coverage in the country, with about 92.1% of its citizens Insured. An increase in public health funding and great accessibility has helped the state tremendously. As of 2008, only 7.9% of the population lacks Health Insurance this year (down 1.9% from 2007). The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is also very high in this state, standing at 75.4%, although it seems to be decreasing slightly (it was 79% five years ago).
With the best rate of primary care physicians for the population (189.1 physicians per 100,000 population), Massachusetts has definitely no problems reaching its citizens, which shows with the percentage of population that could get medical care when needed, which is at an all-time high of 94.1%. The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 28.7%.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts’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) State officials:
Official Massachusetts health insurance information
| Recent Massachusetts health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts: |
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