Indiana Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Indiana?

Indiana was rated 35th in a 2009 ranking of the healthiest states by the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• The state has recorded improvement in the category of preventable hospitalizations, which decreased from 83.2 to 78.6 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• One of the state's top rankings (13th) was again in the category of infectious disease. Since 1990, the incidence of infectious disease in Indiana has been cut in half – from 18 to 8.9 percent in 2009.

The bad news:

• The state's worst ranking for 2009 was in the category measuring prevalence of smoking. The state was 49th of the 50 states, with 26 percent of the population identified as smokers.
• Indiana was also 49th of 50 states in the category of public health funding. At $36 dollars per person, the funding was well below the national average of $94.

The state's best and worst category rankings:

• Geographic disparity – 11th
• Infectious disease – 13th
• Cancer deaths – 40th
• Air pollution – 42nd
• Children in poverty – 44th
• Public health funding – 49th
• Prevalence of smoking – 49th

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

Does Indiana have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

Indiana Comprehensive Health Association (click "guest" for access, then choose "ICHIA")
Toll-free 1-800-552-7921 or (317) 614-2000

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Indiana will offer health coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Indiana's participation, click here.

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 pool to 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. Read more about risk pools here.

Cover The Uninsured's guide on finding health insurance in Indiana

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 Indiana and all other states.
• Its guide on how to find health insurance in Indiana.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Indiana

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 help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Indiana.

USNews health insurance rankings for Indiana

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 Indiana.

Official State Goverment Sites with Indiana Health Insurance Information

Indiana Insurance Department-- The health insurance section of the official state site.

Consumers Guide to Health Insurance --Resolving disputes with health insurance companies

Federal Government sites with specific Indiana Information

Noting above that Indianans take a disproportionate number of mental health days, here the National Mental Health Information Centers lists Indiana Mental Health Resources published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.