Utah Health Insurance
Utah’s health status
Utah really is one of the best places to live within the country when it comes to health. It has been dubbed as the fifth healthiest state to live by the United Health Foundation’s list of America’s Health Rankings, that take into consideration the overall healthiness of each state in the country, and rank them accordingly, from best to worst. Utah, up one spot from last year rank (it was 6th last year) has a lot of good things going on for the state, health-wise: it was the lowest prevalence of smokers in the country, with only 11.7% of smokers within the state, and some of the lowest percentages of obesity and binge drinkers in the country as well.
Utah ranks among the top ten states on 14 of the 22 measures United Health Foundation uses to rank the states. Other highlights for the states include a low infant mortality rate at 5.1 deaths per 1,000 live births (4th in the nation), very few preventable hospitalizations (with 46.8 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees, it’s the second lowest in the nation), a high rate of high school graduation with 84.4 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years, a low violent crime rate at 235 offenses per 100,000 population (seventh lowest in the US). The incidence of infectious case diseases was reduced drastically in the past year and is now the fifth lowest incidence in the nation, with only 5.3 cases per 100,000 population within the state. The cancer and cardiovascular-related deaths, are two of the lowest percentages in the nation as well, which is good news for Utahans.
There is really little that can be done to improve even more the situation in Utah, as mostly everything is being done right. Some of the key issues that could be improved within the state include the state’s limited access to primary care (with 89.6 primary care physicians per 100,000 population it’s the sixth worst in the nation), moderate immunization coverage with 78.5 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations, high geographic disparity within the state at 17.5 percent, and a high rate of uninsured population at 15.1% of the population in Utah lacking Health Insurance coverage. Most of these issues are caused by the state’s low (and apparently decreasing) public health funding per capita, which was cut this year and is now barely $61 per person in the state.
Utah is in a great position within the country, when it comes to health. It’s an extremely healthy place to live, and has one of America’s healthiest lifestyles. With an increase in public health funding, most of Utah’s current issues could be resolved, making the state even better.
Utah health insurance information
Despite having an extremely efficient health care system, and good health status Utah has very limited public health funding, and although 84.9 percent of the Utah residents have health insurance the percentage of people lacking it (15.1%) is above average. In this state, public health funding seems vital to improve the accessibility of the system. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is low, with 44.1% percent of employers offering Health Insurance plans, and this percentage has been steadily decreasing since 2003. About 78.5% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers.
Despite the great shape of this state when it comes to health, Utah’s extremely low public health funding per capita is affecting its health accessibility, which shows by the low rate of primary care physicians for the population, barely 89.6 physicians per 100,000 population. With a bit more public health funding, Utah can become an even healthier state. The percentage of the Utah population that could get medical care when needed is good at 87.7 %. The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 12.7%.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Utah
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 Utah 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 Utah’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 Utah health insurance information
| Recent Utah health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Utah 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 Utah: |
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