Maryland Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Maryland?

Less smoking, fewer violent crimes and fewer children living in poverty helped Maryland climb from being ranked the 32nd most healthy state in which to live in 2006 to #28 in 2007. This according to a health care foundation which pits states against each other in 20 categories.

Maryland is in the top ten in four of those 20 measurements. It leads the nation in the number of primary care physicians per 100,000 people. It's citizens take few sick days, but nearly three times as many mental health days.

The state faces challenges in infectious disease cases (only two states have higher rates) and even though violent crime is on the decrease, it's still a huge problem as the state in in the bottom ten in that measurement.

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

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Does Maryland have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

Maryland Health Insurance Plan
Toll-free 1-888-444-9016 (M-F 8am-5pm)

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.

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

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

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Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Maryland

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 Maryland.

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News headlines on Maryland health insurance

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

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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 Benjamin Cardin
  PHONE: 202-224-4524 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-1651 (DC office)
  Local offices (bottom right of page)
  Contact by E-mail

• Senator Barbara Mikulski
  PHONE: 202-224-4654 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-8858 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail
  
  

Contact your state officials:

• Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley
  100 State Circle
  Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1925
  PHONE: 410-974-3901 or toll-free 1-800-811-8336
  Contact by e-mail
  
  
  
• Contact your Maryland State Senator and State Representative

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USNews health insurance rankings for Maryland

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 Maryland.

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Official State Goverment Sites with Maryland Health Insurance Information

Maryland Health Care Commission -- links to consumer guide to health insurance, provided by the State of Maryland.

Maryland Medical Assistance Program -- providing access to health care services for many of the state’s low-income residents. Individuals may be eligible for services through the Maryland Medicaid Program, the Maryland Children’s Health Program or the Maryland Primary Adult Care Program (PAC).

Maryland Children's Health Program (MCHP) -- uses federal and state funds to provide health care coverage to low-income children 18 and under and pregnant women of any age.