Oregon Health Insurance
Oregon’s health status
Oregon is a state that, for the past 20 years, has consistently improved its health status. In 1990, it was ranked 34th healthiest in America’s Health Rankings, a list compiled by the United Health Foundation that ranked the best states in the country when it comes to health. In 2008, Oregon was ranked 16th healthiest state in the nation, four spots up from its 2007 ranking and 18 spots up from its 1990 ranking. Health is an issue that keeps getting better as years go by in this state. Two of the biggest accomplishments of the state: since 1990, the incidence of infectious disease declined from 92.8 to 11.8 cases per 100,000 population, and the infant mortality rate decreased from 9.9 to 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Oregon has the seventh lowest prevalence of smokers within the state, with only 16.9 of the residents within the state being smokers, a percentage that in 2007 alone, lowered 1.4%. Other features Oregon has when it comes to health, are a low rate of preventable hospitalizations with 51.2 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees, the third in the nation, few poor mental health days per month at 3.0 days in the previous 30 days and ready access to primary care with 124.0 primary care physicians per 100,000 population. Although increasing slightly in this past year, the violent crime rate in Oregon is also pretty low. The percentage of children in poverty, infectious disease cases and the rate of Air pollution have all lowered this year as well, and are either average or below average, when compared with other states in the Country.
Oregon still has to work on some key factors if they want to continue their improvement streak: challenges for this state include a high rate of uninsured population at 17.3%, an extremely low immunization coverage (with 72.4% of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations, Oregon has the second worst percentage in the US) and low per capita public health funding at $54 per person. Oregon ranks lower for health determinants than for health outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness may decline over time.
Although funding is scarce in Oregon, ready primary care access is good and efficient, with excellent percentages of primary care physicians per 100,000 population and preventable hospitalizations. Oregon has definitely been doing things right for the past 20 years, and even though they still need a few key issues to be worked out, Oregon is a very good place to live in the US when it comes to health.
Oregon health insurance information
In Oregon, about 82.7% of the citizens have Health Insurance, which is a good coverage percentage for despite the low government funding per capita that the state receives. This means that about 17.3% of the population in Oregon has no Health Insurance, a percentage that has increased tremendously as compared to the one measured 5 years ago, which is an issue that must be corrected. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is okay, with 56.7% percent of employers offering health Insurance plans, a percentage that has been also lowering since 2003. 83.7% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.
Despite the low public health funding in Oregon, the rate of primary care physicians for the population is very good, with 124 physicians per 100,000 population. Oregon’s health care system, despite having a poor funding, seems to be efficient and adequate, although it’s been experiencing accessibility problems, with less and less people in Oregon having Health Insurance with each passing year. The percentage of the Oregon population that could get medical care when needed is 85.7%. The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 17.3%.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Oregon (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 Oregon 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 Oregon’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 Oregon health insurance information | Recent Oregon health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Oregon 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 Oregon: |
Next Step
 |
 |
 |
