North Dakota’s health status

North Dakota is this year ranked as the 12th healthiest state to live in the US, and although a small decrease from 2007’s 8th position, it’s still one of the best states in the nation. The ranking, America’s Health Ranking, a list compiled by the United Health Foundation, measures the overall healthiness of the states based on several key factors. According to the United Health Foundation, North Dakota is the best in the nation when it comes low rate of infectious disease cases (only 2.5 per 100,000 population), and the lowest rate of poor mental health days and poor physical health days. It’s also the state with the second-lowest percentage of air pollution, and one of the top five states in the country when it comes to High School Graduation percentages, and violent crime rate.

Two of the biggest potential issues for North Dakota, is drinking (the state has the second-worst percentage of binge drinkers in the country, with 22.1 percent of the population in North Dakota), and one of the country’s highest percentages of geographical disparity. The percentage of binge smoking and obesity in the population has also increased this year, as compared to 2007. Infant Mortality rates have also gone slightly up, as well as the premature death rate (which is now 6,447 years lost before age 75 per 100,000 population).

Despite lowering from last year’s amount, North Dakota has a somewhat low but still average public health funding. Nonetheless, the rate of primary care physicians and preventable hospitalizations have not changed considerable due to the decrease in funding, although the immunization coverage percentage has lowered slightly in the past year. Overall, basic health care is accessible, with only 11% of the population lacking Health Insurance. Despite its slight fall in 2008, North Dakota has great health, and it’s a very good place to live, when it comes to health.

North Dakota health insurance information

In North Dakota, about 89% of the citizens have Health Insurance, which is a very good coverage percentage, despite the relatively low government funding, and a somewhat high geographical disparity. This means that about 11% of the population in North Dakota has no Health Insurance, and the good news is that this percentage has gone down in the past 5 years. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is also somewhat low, with only 49.1% percent of employers offering health Insurance plans, a percentage that has been improving drastically since 2003. 78.7% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.

Despite the still somewhat low public health funding in North Dakota, the rate of primary care physicians for the population is good, with 121.4 physicians per 100,000 population. North Dakota’s health care system, despite needing a bit more funding, is adequate, accessible, and efficient, which is shown by percentage of the North Dakota population that could get medical care when needed (92.4%). The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 12.2%.

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

Best health plans in North Dakota (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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota’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: North Dakota Governor John Hoeven 600 East Boulevard Avenue Bismarck, ND 58505-0001 PHONE:701-328-2200 FAX: 701-328-2205 Senator Kent Conrad PHONE: 202-224-2043 (DC office) FAX: 202-224-7776 (DC office) Web Form: Contact Form Senator Byron Dorgan PHONE: 202-224-2551 (DC office) FAX: 202-224-224-1193 (DC office) E-mail: senator@dorgan.senate.gov Official North Dakota health insurance information North Dakota Department of Health The State Health Officer’s comprehensive site for health care information for state residents. North Dakota Insurance Department - health insurance section Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Designed to provide health care insurance for children in families without health insurance or with inadequate health insurance. It does not replace Medicaid; in fact, children on Medicaid are precluded from CHIP participation.		Recent North Dakota health insurance news Health Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of North Dakota 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 North Dakota: