Mississippi Health Insurance

How healthy is living
in Mississippi?

Mississippi tied with Louisiana as the 49th healthiest state to live in according to the 2012 America's Health Rankings® by the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• Poverty in children dropped significantly in the last year: from 33.7 percent to 24.4 percent.
• The percentage of people lacking health insurance decreased slightly; however, the state ranks 42nd for health insurance coverage.

The bad news:

• Mississippi ranks 50th in seven categories in America's Health Rankings.
• Immunization rates dropped by 4.5 percentage points from 2011 to 2012.

Mississippi's best and worst category rankings:

• Binge Drinking – 6th
• Violent Crime – 16th
• Diabetes – 50th
• Obesity – 50th
• Sedentary Lifestyle – 50th
• Cardiovascular Deaths – 50th
• Infant Mortality – 50th

more details

• See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Mississippi.
• Trust for America's Health ia another source for key Mississippi health quality findings. In addition, 2010's federal health reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), included the creation of a prevention fund to provide more than $16 billion over the next 10 years to invest in effective, proven prevention efforts, like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessation, and the site has a report on how it impacts Mississippi here.

get local health results

State snapshot too large? Get county-by-county health rankings for Mississippi, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin.

Does Mississippi have a health insurance high risk pool?

Mississippi Comprehensive Health Insurance Risk Pool
Toll-free 1-888-820-9400

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Mississippi started offering health care insurance coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Mississippi'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.

Non-profit sources of health insurance information for Mississippi

• The Foundation for Health Coverage Education's mission is to provide simplified public and private health insurance eligibility information in order to help more people access coverage. Here is its guide on how to find health insurance in Mississippi.
• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is tracking the progress of health insurance reform in each state. Its page for Mississippi can be found here.
• The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization that, among other things, provides health care plan report cards for consumers. Search for Mississippi health insurance plan report cards.

Mississippi state government health insurance resources

Mississippi and the Affordable Care Act —  The state’s Web site to explain impacts of federal health care reform on Mississippians.

MO CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Plan) —  Designed to provide health care insurance for children in families without health insurance or with inadequate health insurance. It does not replace Medicaid; in fact, children on Medicaid are precluded from CHIP participation.

Mississippi Division of Medicaid —  Information on health care for the  state’s lowest income individuals and families.

Mississippi Insurance Department –consumer information page —  Links of interest to the state’s health insurance consumers.

How did Mississippi officials vote on health reform?

H.R.2: Repealing the Health Care Bill

#14

Date of Vote: 1/19/2011 Status: House passed 245-189, 1 not voting

HOUSE|SENATE

1/19/2011--Passed House amended. Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions. [more]

Yes (3)

• Gregg Harper

• Alan Nunnelee

• Steven Palazzo

Our
Pick

No (1)

• Bennie Thompson