Minnesota Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Minnesota?

Minnesota dropped two spots – from 4th to 2nd – in the 2008 ranking of the healthiest states by the United Health Foundation, but the state is still no slouch, with rankings in the top 10 states in 11 of 22 measurements in the study.

The good news:

• The state had the top rating in the country for cardiovascular deaths, with 219.4 per 100,000 population, considerably lower than the national average of 298.2.
• Minnesota was also ranked highest when it came to the rate of premature death – measuring the loss of years of productive life before age 75.
• The state was ranked third among the 50 states based on activity lost or limited due to mental health difficulties.
• Just two states rated higher than Minnesota in terms of occupational fatalities. The state had 3.5 per 100,000 workers, compared to the national average of 5.2
• Other good news: the prevalence of smoking was on the decline, from 18.3 percent of the population in 2007 to 16.5 percent in 2008. Since 1990, the percentage had dropped more than 12 percentage points.

The bad news:

• Minnesota was cited as having one of the 10 lowest public health funding levels – $45 per person – compared to the national average of $88.
• The state's overall rating also suffered due to an increase in the percentage of children in poverty – from 11.1 percent to 13.7 percent and an increase in the prevalence of obesity – from 10.2 percent to 26 percent since 1990..

The state's best and worst category rankings:

• Cardiovascular deaths – 1st
• Premature death – 1st
• Poor mental health days – 3rd
• Occupational fatalities – 3rd
• Lack of health insurance – 4th
• Prevalence of smoking – 5th
• High school graduation – 6th (64.6 percent of ninth graders eventually graduate)
• Immunization coverage – 7th
• Infant mortality – 7th
• Public health funding – 43rd

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

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Does Minnesota have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association
Toll-free 1-866-894-8053

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.

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

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 Minnesota and all other states.
• Its guide on how to find health insurance in Minnesota.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

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USNews health insurance rankings for Minnesota

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 Minnesota.

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Official State Goverment Sites with Minnesota Health Insurance Information

State of Minnesota Department of Health – The State of Minnesota's department of health provides information on health insurance.

Office of Attorney General Lori Swanson – Heatlh care information and resources for health insurance consumers from the state's attorney general.

MinnesotaCare – Basic health care coverage for low-income Minnesotans through publicly subsidized health care assistance program.

Medicaid – Facts on Minnesota and Medicaid.

The Sage Screening Program (formerly the Minnesota Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program) – free mammogram screening and follow-up services to uninsured and underinsured women.

Who's Who in Health Care – A resource Guide for Minnesotans provides an introduction to health care insurance, and more specifically managed care. It provides an overview of what managed care is and what techniques are used to "manage" health care.

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Health Care Advocacy Groups in Minnesota

TakeAction Minnesota – TakeAction Minnesota is working to move a bold, progressive agenda to achieve quality, affordable health care for everyone in Minnesota. This year, the group is building a broad coalition behind real health care reform, working to get health care moving the right direction at the Minnesota Legislature, and organizing thousands of Minnesotans across the state to join the fight to make the health care system work better for Minnesotans.