Indiana Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Indiana?

Indiana was slightly lower in a 2008 ranking of the healthiest states by the United Health Foundation, falling to 34th.

The good news:

• One of the state's top rankings (14th) was in the category of infectious disease. Since 1990, the incidence of infectious disease in Indiana has been cut in half – from 18 to 9 percent.
• The percentage of uninsured residents fell a percentage point – fro 12.7 to 11.6 percent.

The bad news:

• In the past year, the percentage of children (under age 18) in poverty rose from 14.3 to 18.8 percent. That trend has continued over the past five years as the percentage of children in poverty increased by 66 percent.
• Indiana received low rankings for its high prevalence of smoking and for air pollution.
• The state's worst rating was in the category of public health funding, where it came in dead last in terms of dollars ($33) per person that are spent on public or population health.

The state's best and worst category rankings:

• Geographic disparity – 12th
• Infectious disease – 14th
• Cancer deaths – 40th
• Immunization coverage – 43rd
• Prevalence of smoking – 45th
• Air pollution – 45th
• Public health funding – 50th

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

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.

Mini-meds a guaranteed-issue option for those who are medically uninsurable

An option for the medically uninsurable is a guaranteed-issue mini-med health insurance plan. There is no underwriting and no health questions are asked.

These plans provide basic coverage but are not designed to help with catastrophic expenses. They can often count as creditable coverage, eliminating the waiting period for pre-existing conditions if you later move to an employer-based plan. Read more 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.

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.