Wyoming Health Insurance
Wyoming’s health status
Wyoming has raised considerably its health for the second year in a row, and is now ranked as the 14th healthiest state in the Country, according to the United Health Foundation and its ranking, America’s Health Ranking. The state has climbed five spots as compared to last year, when it was ranked the 19th healthiest state, and is now at its best rank in the past 18 years. One of the main factors that helped improve the state’s health is that in the past year, the incidence of infectious disease decreased from 4.6 to 2.5 cases per 100,000 population, the lowest incidence in the nation. The geographical disparity was also lowered significantly, and at 7.5% is also the lowest in the US, an honor Wyoming shares with a couple other states.
The health status of this state has been increased considerably in the past two years alone, and some of the key features that have helped this for Wyoming are: the second lowest level of air pollution (at 6.1 micrograms of fine particulate per cubic meter), the eighth lowest violent crime rate at 239 offenses per 100,000 population, strong public health funding at $121 per person, and a low infant mortality rate at 5.1 deaths per 1,000 live births. Overall, the lifestyle of Wyomians has become healthier, and Health Insurance coverage has become slightly more accessible, with a small decrease in the percentage of residents lacking health insurance. The Health system is also efficient, with a low number of preventable hospitalizations.
One of the biggest issues in this past year was the big public health funding cut. The per capita amount destined for public health funding was cut $14 dollars in the past year (which is almost what half of other states receive in its totality), and despite still having a very good and strong public health funding, this fact could have some future repercussions. Other things that need to be watched when it comes to health include the state’s high occupational fatalities rate at 14.3 deaths per 100,000 workers (which, although decreasing as well from past year, is still extremely high), limited access to primary care with 90.1 primary care physicians per 100,000 population, a high prevalence of smoking at 22.1 percent of the population and a high prevalence of binge drinking at 16.7 percent of the population. If Wyoming can control and improve these issues, the state’s health will improve even more in the coming years.
Wyoming health insurance information
Despite having a very strong public health funding, Wyoming has a slightly below average accessibility, with 86% of the Wyoming residents have health insurance, and 14% of residents lack it, a percentage that has although was lowered in the past year, can still improve. The percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees is very low, with only 38.6% percent of employers offering Health Insurance plans. This percentage has lowered since 2003. About 85.4% of workers take the Health Insurance plans offered by their employers, one of the highest percentages in the nation.
Wyoming, despite its strong funding, has to still work some things out and to offer a better health service to its residents. The state has an extremely low rate of primary care physicians for the population, with only 90.1 physicians per 100,000 population. The low number of preventable hospitalizations show that the health system in the state is relatively efficient, above national average. The percentage of the Wyoming population that could get medical care when needed is also low, at 86.9%. The patients served by FQHCs as a percent of population under 200% FPL stands at 15.1%.
If coverage has been denied for you, there are still some options you can check:
Best health plans in Wyoming
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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming’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 Wyoming health insurance information
| Recent Wyoming health insurance newsHealth Insurance is always a hot topic for discussion, since it involves the citizens of Wyoming 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 Wyoming: |
Next Step
 |
 |
 |
