Affordable health insurance for the individual, the family and the self-employed

Kentucky Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Kentucky?

Kentucky has the lowest rate of binge drinking in the United States, but the highest rate of smoking and cancer deaths.

Overall, Kentucky ranks 43rd in an annual listing of the healthiest states in which to live, published by United Health Foundation.

Kentucky's next best rankings, after it's #1 for low binge drinking, are a pair of #11s for low rate of violent crime and good rate of immunizing children.

Here's where Kentucky has room to improve:

Kentucky ranks #42 in combating obesity -- a full 28 percent of Kentuckians are medically-obese.
Only three states have more children living in poverty; 23.5 percent of children here do.
Only one state has more preventable hospitalizations per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
Kentuckians use more sick days than nearly all other states, only three have more mental health days, its next to worst for physical health days.
Only five states have worse rates of cardiovasular deaths.
Only eight states have higher rates of premature death.

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

Does Kentucky have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

Kentucky Access
Toll-free 1-866-405-6145

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 Kentucky

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 Kentucky.
Its guide on how to find health insurance in Kentucky.
Materiales En Español -- Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Kentucky

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 Kentucky.

News headlines on Kentucky health insurance

Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Kentucky 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 Jim Bunning
PHONE: 202-224.4343 (DC office)
FAX: 202-228.1373 (DC office)
Local offices (bottom of page)
Contact by E-mail

Senator MItch McConnell
PHONE: 202-224-2541 (DC office)
FAX: 202-224-2499 (DC office)
Local offices
Contact by E-mail

Contact your state officials:

Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher
700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
PHONE: (502) 564-2611
PHONE: (502) 564-2517
Contact by e-mail
Contact your Kentucky State Senator and State Representative

USNews health insurance rankings for Kentucky

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 Kentucky.

Official State Goverment Sites with Kentucky Health Insurance Information

Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services-- The health insurance section of the official state site.

Kentucky Office of Insurance -- seeks to promote sound, competitive insurance markets and protect the public through effective enforcement and regulation, and empower the public through outreach and education.

Kentucky State Publications on Health Insurance --scroll down to the health insurance section.

Federal Government sites with specific Kentucky Information

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