Ohio Health Insurance
Ohio’s health status
Ohio was ranked as the 32nd state in America’s Health Rankings, a list compiled by the United Health Foundation. Dropping slightly from last year’s spot (Ohio was ranked 29th in the nation last year), this year Ohio peaks at its lowest position in the past twenty years. There are a couple of things that happened in the past year that led to this outcome: the prevalence of smoking increased from 22.4 percent to 23.1 percent of the population, and the percentage of children in Poverty went up 0.5% as compared to last year (in fact, in the past five years, the percentage of children in poverty increased from 16.2 percent to 19.1 percent of persons under age 18).
Other challenges include high levels of air pollution at 15.5 micrograms of fine particulate per cubic meter, low public health funding at $38 per person in the bottom three in the country, a high prevalence of smoking at 23.1 percent of the population, many poor mental health days per month at 3.7 days in the previous 30 days and a high rate of cancer deaths at 209.0 deaths per 100,000 population. This shows that Ohio has many things to work on so its health status and health system can become more effective, efficient and adequate.
There are good things as well in Ohio: Strengths include a low rate of uninsured population at 10.9 percent (although rising slightly, it’s still one of the lowest percentages in the nation), a high rate of high school graduation with 80.2 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years and low geographic disparity within the state at 9.0 percent. Ohio ranks higher for health determinants than for health outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness should improve over time, which is a good thing and speaks well of the health system.
Public health funding is a key aspect in improving the situation of Ohio, health-wise. But Ohio works pretty well with the little funding it has: although having one of the worst public health funding in the nation, the rate of primary health care accessible is very good, with 118.2 primary care physicians per 100,000 population, a good immunization coverage for children ages 19 to 35 months (although dropping slightly as compared to 2007, it’s still at a very respectable 80.7% of children 19-35 months receiving complete immunizations), and a low percentage of the population lacking Health Insurance, only 10.9%. This means that overall, Ohio has a very good access to health care.
Ohio health insurance information
In Ohio, about 89.1% of the citizens have Health Insurance, which is a good coverage percentage, despite the extremely low government funding. This means that about 10.9% of the population in Ohio has no Health Insurance, but the good news for Ohio residents is that this percentage has lowered in the past 5 years. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is also good, with 62.8% percent of employers offering health Insurance plans, a percentage that has alsobeen improving since 2003. 80.8% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.
Despite the still somewhat low public health funding in Ohio, the rate of primary care physicians for the population is good, with 118.2 physicians per 100,000 population. Ohio’s health care system, despite needing a bit more funding, is adequate, accessible, and efficient, which is shown by percentage of the Ohio population that could get medical care when needed (86.9%). The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 9.9%.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Ohio (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 Ohio 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 Ohio’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 House PHONE: toll free 1-800-671-7887 (ask for the Comment Line) State officials:
Official Ohio health insurance information
| Recent Ohio health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Ohio 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 Ohio: |
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