Michigan Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Michigan?

United Health Foundation has ranked Michigan as the 31st healthiest state in which to live in its 2007 update of it annual listings.

Out of 20 categories examined, the state ranked in the top ten in only one. The foundation lists them as 5th in occupational deaths.

Michigan had two entries in the bottom 10, bettering only six other states in percentage of obesity and nine other states in incidents of violent crime.

Obesity, the uninsured population and number of children in poverty are all on the increase.

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

Does Michigan have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

No, Michigan does not offer a risk pool for its citizen's who are medically-uninsurable. Contact your state officials.

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 Michigan

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

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Michigan

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 Michigan.

News headlines on Michigan health insurance

Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Michigan 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 Carl Levin
  PHONE: 202-224-6221 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-1388 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail

• Senator Debbie Stabenow
  PHONE: 202-224-4822 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-224-2066 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail
  
  

Contact your state officials:

• Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm
  P.O. Box 30013
  Lansing, Michigan 48909
  PHONE: (517) 373-3400
  FAX: (517) 335-6863
  Contact by e-mail
  
  
  
• Contact your Michigan State Senator
• Contact your Michigan State Representative

USNews health insurance rankings for Michigan

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 Michigan.

Official State Goverment Sites with Michigan Health Insurance Information

H ow to Get the Most Out of Your Health Coverage -- -- Should you have questions, or need additional information, the staff of the Office of Financial and Insurance Services is available to provide assistance.

Information on HMOs in Michigan -- from Michigan's Departmetn of Labor and Health

PDF guide to Discount Health Insurance Plans -- Michigan's Office of Financial and Insurance Services.

MIChild -- a health insurance program for uninsured children of Michigan's working families. MIChild services are provided by many HMOs and other health care plans throughout Michigan.

Michigan's Patient Bill of Rights -- knowing your rights and how to exercise them is the first step toward being a better consumer in today's health insurance market.