Tennessee Health Insurance
Tennessee’s health status
Tennessee was rated in 2008 as the 47th healthiest place to live by the United Health Foundation, and it’s not exactly a good position. Last year it ranked 46th in America’s Health Rankings, and losing a spot within a year means that overall the health in the state has decreased slightly this past year. There are several factors that have boosted the fall in the rankings for Tennessee, such as the increase in the prevalence of smoking and obesity within the state, two percentages that are now some of the worst in the nation (with 24.3% of residents being smokers, and 30.7% being obese). Tennessee has the great honor though of having the lowest prevalence of binge drinking in the nation, with only 8.9% of its populations being drinkers.
Other key issues need to be looked upon and lowered in the state are the high rate of preventable hospitalizations (with 97.8 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees, it’s the 5th worst in the country), high levels of air pollution at 14.7 micrograms of fine particulate per cubic meter, the second highest violent crime rate in the US, at 753 offenses per 100,000 population and an extremely high infant mortality rate at 9.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Cardiovascular and cancer-related deaths are rates are also some of the highest in the country, as well as the premature death rate (with 9,647 years lost before age 75 per 100,000 population). Despite having great public health funding, the percentage of residents lacking Health Insurance has been consistently going up for the past five years.
Strengths in the state include, besides its low prevalence of binge drinking, moderate immunization coverage with 80.5 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations, and ready access to primary care with 121.6 primary care physicians per 100,000 population. Although it’s still a low percentage when compared with the rest of the country, the state has also made progress in increasing the percentage of High School graduations, with 68.5% of incoming 9th graders graduating within four years, 2.5% up from 2007. The percentage of children living in poverty has also lowered slightly in the past year, and is no longer in the country’s bottom ten, which is good news for Tennessee.
With strong public health funding (increasing $9 per capita last year alone), and a high rate of ready primary care access and complete immunizations for toddlers, the state is working hard in remain accessible to its citizens. The percentage of residents lacking health insurance needs to be controlled, because it has been consistently increasing over the past five years. Overall, Tennessee has many things to work on to improve its health status, and if they do so they could increase the overall health of its people.
Tennessee health insurance information
In Tennessee, 86% of the citizens in Tennessee have Health Insurance, a good percentage that shows that the public health funding has been used appropriately within the state. Although Tennessee still has things to work on, the progress that it’s being made is good, with 14% of the population in Tennessee having no Health Insurance. Accessibility needs to be watched carefully, as this percentage has been increasing over the past five years. The percentage of employers offering Health Insurance to employees is okay, with 54.7% percent of employers offering health Insurance plans, and this percentage has been steadily increasing since 2003. About 80.5% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.
The good public health funding in Tennessee has helped tremendously, which shows by the great rate of primary care physicians for the population, with 121.6 physicians per 100,000 population. Tennessee’s health care system position within the country could do a lot better, because despite its good accessibility it’s not as efficient and adequate as it is in the rest of the country. The percentage of the Tennessee population that could get medical care when needed is 85.3 %. The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 13.1%.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Tennessee
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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee’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 Tennessee health insurance information
| Recent Tennessee health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Tennessee 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 Tennessee: |
Next Step
 |
 |
 |
