Oklahoma Health Insurance
Oklahoma’s health status
Oklahoma is a healthier place to live now as compared to one year ago, according to the United Health Foundation. The state, that ranked as the 47th state in terms of health (the fourth worst in the nation) in 2007, has improved slightly and is now five spots, at the 42nd position. There are two vital factors that have helped the boost in Oklahoma’s health: the state’s low prevalence of binge drinking (at 13.0% of Oklahomans), and strong public health funding at $99 per person.
Oklahoma has also improved health-wise in other aspects over the past year: In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 20.7 percent to 19.0 percent of persons under age 18, the percentage of geographical disparity within the state has also lowered (0.2% in the past year, being now at 10.2% of geographical disparity), and the cancer-related and cardiovascular-related death rates have fallen slightly, and although still very high as compared to the rest of the country, progress can be seen in these two areas. Since 1990, the incidence of infectious disease decreased from 34.9 to 14.0 cases per 100,000 population. 2008 is the first year in which the incidence of infectious disease has not been reduced, when it increased 0.2 cases per 100,000 population.
Oklahoma’s health overall, though improving slightly, is still not in a very good position as compared to the rest of the country. Challenges the state need to fight include a high prevalence of smoking (at 25.8 percent of the population, it’s the third worst percentage in the country) limited access to primary care with 79.9 primary care physicians per 100,000 population (second worst in the country), many poor mental and physical health days per month at 3.9 days and 4.1 days in the previous 30 days, respectively, and a high rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease at 371.0 deaths per 100,000 population, a percentage that, although lowering, is still the second worst in the nation.
Public health funding used appropriately is a key aspect in improving the situation of Oklahoma, health-wise. Although having a pretty good public health funding as compared with other states in America, the percentage of Oklahomans lacking Health Insurance is very high (in the bottom 10 of the country, with 18.3% of the residents with no Health Insurance), and the ready access to primary health care is extremely low, with only 79.9 primary care physicians per 100,000 population and 95.9 preventable hospitalizations per 1,000 Medicare enrollees. Public health funding needs to be used more efficiently for Oklahoma to improve its health.
Oklahoma health insurance information
In Oklahoma, about 81.7% of the citizens have Health Insurance, which is a low coverage percentage, despite the strong government funding. This means that about 18.3% of the population in Oklahoma has no Health Insurance, a percentage that has increased as compared to the one measured 5 years ago. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is also low, with 48.3% percent of employers offering health Insurance plans, a percentage that has been improving since 2003. 79.8% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.
Despite the good public health funding in Oklahoma, the rate of primary care physicians for the population is the second lowest in the nation, with only 79.9 physicians per 100,000 population. Oklahoma’s health care system, despite having a strong funding, is relatively inaccessible and needs to be improved in terms of efficiency, which is shown by percentage of the Oklahoma population that could get medical care when needed (barely 82.5%). The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 7.7%.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Oklahoma
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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma’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) 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: |
Next Step
 |
 |
 |
