Kentucky Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Kentucky?

Kentucky fell into the bottom 10 states in the nation in the 2009 ranking of the healthiest states by the United Health Foundation, coming in at #41.

The good news:

• The incidence of infectious disease in the state has dropped from 27.4 to 10.1 cases per 100,000 since 1990.
• The state fell from its #1 ranking in the category measuring prevalence of binge drinking, but still came in #4 with 10.1 percent of the adult population cited as having drunken excessively in the previous 30 days.

The bad news:

• One year after the percentage of the state's children in poverty decreased from 23.5 percent to 21 percent, it bounced back up to 24.4 percent in 2009.
• In 11 categories, the state was ranked among the bottom ten states. Kentucky's worst ratings? The very bottom ranking in cancer deaths (225.1 per 100,000 population) and in poor mental health days (4.6 per month).
• Kentucky was also rated 49th of 50 states in two categories: poor physical health days (4.5 in the previous 30 days) and preventable hospitalizations.
• And a disturbing trend continued as the prevalence of obesity continued to increased up from 12.2 percent to 30.2 percent of the population since 1990.

The state's best and worst category rankings:

• Prevalence of binge drinking – 4th
• Violent crime – 19th
• Air pollution – 41st
• Occupational fatalities – 42nd
• Premature death – 42nd
• Cardiovascular deaths – 43rd
• Prevalence of obesity – 44th
• Prevalence of smoking – 48th
• Children in poverty – 48th
• Preventable hospitalizations – 49th
• Poor physical health days – 49th
• Cancer deaths – 50th
• Poor mental health days – 50th

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

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Kentucky will offer health coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Kentucky'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 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 and all other states.
• 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 help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Kentucky.

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.

Consumer groups working for universal health insurance for Kentucky

KYHealthCare.org -- a joint project of Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care and Physicians for a National Health Program - Kentucky.

Kentucky Jobs With Justice is an organizations working for employee rights.