Hawaii Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Hawaii?

If you live in Hawaii you have good news! According to UnitedHealth Foundation, its the third healthiest state to live in (beat only by Vermont and Minnesota). It ranks number one in the nation in four of 20 categories measured in the annual study:

• Per capita public health spending ($499)
• Fewest preventable hospitalizations (32.2 per 1,ooo Medicare enrollees)
• Least number of cardiovascular deaths
• Least number of cancer deaths

Hawaii gets its worst score in the adequacy of prenatal care, where it ranks 46th out of 50 states. Its Hawaii's sole listing in the bottom ten.

See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Hawaii.

Does Hawaii have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

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's guide on finding health insurance in Hawaii

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.

• Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in Hawaii.
• Its guide on how to find health insurance in Hawaii.
• Materiales En Español -- Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Hawaii

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.

• Georgetown's guide for Hawaii.

News headlines on Hawaii health insurance

Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Hawaii at Google News or Yahoo News.

Want single-payer health care? Concerned about the uninsured?
Contact your elected officials about health care issues

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.

• Contact the White House
  Phone: toll free 1-800-671-7887 (ask for the Comment Line)
  FAX: 1 202-456-2461 (fax)
  E-mail:comments@whitehouse.gov
  
  
• Find contact information on your U.S. Representative
  Locate by using your ZIP Code
  Or if you know who your representative is, simply call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1-800-962-3524

• Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka
  PHONE: 202-224-6361 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-2126 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail

• Senator Daniel K. Inouye
  PHONE: 202-224-3934 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-6747 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail
  
  

Contact your state officials:

• Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle
  State Capitol
  Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813
  PHONE: (808) 586-0034
  FAX: (808) 586-0006
  Contact by e-mail
  
  
  
• Contact your Hawaii State Senator
• Contact your Hawaii State Representative

USNews health insurance rankings for Hawaii

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 Hawaii.

Official State Goverment Sites with Hawaii Health Insurance Information

Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Services Health Insurance Page -- Health insurance resources from the state of Hawaii including severable downloadable PDFs

Med-QUEST -- A program which provides health insurance coverage to eligible Hawaiians It covers all ages 64 and under but has certain requirements and income eligibility guidelines.

Hawaii’s Fee-For-Service Medicaid Program -- serves people age 65 and over, or certified blind or disabled, coverage is provided underthis program where providers are paid directly for their services. For all other individuals, coverage is provided under a managed care program called Hawaii QUEST.