Minnesota’s health status

Despite dropping two spots from last year, Minnesota is definitely one of the healthiest places to live in the United States, as ranked by America’s Health Rankings, by the United Health Foundation. Although Minnesota is 4th this year (it was the second healthiest state of the country in 2007), it still features some of the best percentages in the country when it comes to health, like the lowest rate in the country of cardiovascular-related deaths, with only 219.4 deaths per 100,000 population, and the lowest rate of premature death in the US, with 5,407 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population. The percentage of smokers in the state dropped 1.8% and in 2008 only 16.5% of the population of Minnesota were smokers, the fifth lowest percentage in the country. The percentage of prevalence of binge drinkers also lowered significantly (2.2%), and is no longer in the bottom five of the country. The state also has the honor of having one of the country’s lowest rates of occupational death (only 3.5 per 100,000 workers), and one of the best percentages of High School graduation (86% of incoming 9th graders graduate from HS).

Minnesota is an excellent state when it comes to health, despite its poor public health funding. Sadly, public health funding is one of the things that were dramatically reduced last year (from $62 per person to a mere $45 per person, now in the country’s bottom 10). This might be a key factor on Minnesota not having the lowest percentage of people without insurance, as the percentage increased 0.2% in a year. Nevertheless, the percentage of the population that lacks Health Insurance is still superb (the fourth in the country), and with a great ready primary care (137.7 primary care physicians per 100,000 population), a low rate of preventable hospitalizations, and an average geographical disparity, this state makes the most out of its public health care system, being not only very accessible, but also highly effective.

There are a couple of key aspects on which Minnesota has to work on if they want to be in the top three states when it comes to health. The percentage of obese population in Minnesota has increased significantly this past year, making 26% of Minnesotans obese in 2008. The rate of children poverty has also increased 2.6% in the past year, as well as the rate of air pollution. The infant mortality rate, that used to be the second best in the nation in 2007, has increased in 0.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, making the state 7th in 2008. The three key issues to be worked on in Minnesota is lowering the percentages of binge drinking, obesity, and improve public health funding.

Minnesota has been for a long time one of the best places in the country when it comes to health. Its consistency and great organization make Minnesota’s health care system one of the best in the country.

Minnesota health insurance information

In Minnesota, 91.2% of the citizens in Minnesota have Health Insurance. Despite the poor government funding, this percentage is excellent, which means Minnesota has worked hard towards offering an accessible health plan to its citizens, as only about 8.8% of the population in Minnesota has no Health Insurance. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is average, with 54.3% percent of employers offering health Insurance plans, though this percentage has been going down since 2003. About 78.3% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.

Despite the low public health funding in Minnesota, the state has an very high rate of primary care physicians for the population, with 137.7 physicians per 100,000 population. Minnesota’s health care system is one of the top in the country because not only is highly accessible, but also very effective and adequate. The percentage of the Minnesota population that could get medical care when needed is 91.4%. The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 14.1%.

If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:

Best health plans in Minnesota

The prestigious US News ranks yearly the best Health Planss 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota’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.

Contact the White House PHONE: toll free 1-800-671-7887 (ask for the Comment Line) FAX: 1 202-456-2461 E-MAIL:comments@whitehouse.gov State officials: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty 130 State Capitol 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155 PHONE: (651) 296-3391 or toll-free 1-800-657-3717 FAX:(651) 296-2089 Senator Amy Klobuchar PHONE: 202-224-3244 (DC office) FAX: 202-224-228-2186 (DC office) Web Form: Contact Form Official Minnesota health insurance information State of Minnesota Department of Health The State of Minnesota’s department of health provides information on health insurance. Office of Attorney General Lori Swanson Healthcare information and resources for health insurance consumers from the state’s attorney general. Minnesota Care Basic health care coverage for low-income Minnesotans through publicly subsidized health care assistance program. Medicaid Facts on Minnesota and Medicaid. The Sage Screening Program free mammogram screening and follow-up services to uninsured and under insured women. Who’s Who in Health Care A resource Guide for Minnesotans provides an introduction to health care insurance, and more specifically managed care. It provides an overview of what managed care is and what techniques are used to “manage” health care		Recent Minnesota health insurance news Health Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Minnesota 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 Minnesota: