In 2007, Arizona climbed one notch to be ranked the 33rd most heatlhy state to live in, according to a study by the United Health Foundation. This is after sliding four places in 2006.
Factors bringing Arizona down include low public health spending ($81 per person), 20.9 percent of the six million people living in the state is uninsured (up from 17.1 percent in two years), bad prenatal care with 67.6 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care and one of five children living in poverty. The cost of care in Arizona is moderate as compared to other states but the quality of care is low.
In 2007 the high school graduation rate dropped from 75.9 percent to 66.8 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years -- only seven states rank worse in this category.
See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Arizona.
No, Arizona does not offer a risk pool for its citizen's who are medically-uninsurable. Contact your state officials.
Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state-to-state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the poolto keep it in the black. In the best cases they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Find more on risk pools here.
Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute has researched and written state-by-state guides for finding and keeping health insurance. It updates these guides as federal and state policies change. A number of non-profit organizations contribute to funding its research. Find more on the Health Policy Institute.
Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Arizona at Google News or Yahoo News.

Contact your federal officials. Phone calls are best. Faxes are good, too. Since 9-11 postal mail creates long delays, and many members of Congress simply do not take e-mail seriously -- however, since e-mail is so easy it doesn't hurt to do that, too. Members of the Senate and Congress will usually ignore any correspondence that is not from their district, so its not desirable to blanket e-mail them (this type of abuse is why many do not view it favorably). The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a guide on how to contact your elected officials, including a valuable list of dos and dont's.
US News does an annual ranking of what it considers the best health insurance plans in each state. Visit its reports on various health insurance or medical insurance plans being offered in Arizona.
Arizona State Department of Health Services -- Official government Web site for department responsible for health care services for Arizonans. -- Español
Arizona Department of Health Services:
150 North 18th Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
General and Public Information: (602) 542-1000
Fax: (602) 542-0883
Arizona Department of Insurance main page. Resources for consumers, insurers and producers for Arizona health insurance or medical insurance.
Consumer Information from the Arizona State Department of Insurance -- Health insurance topics and information geared specially for consumers.
For insurance questions/problems...
Phoenix Area: (602) 912-8444
Tucson Area: (520) 628-6370
Statewide: 1-800-325-2548