North Dakota is considered the 8th healthiest state to live in, according to an annual survey which ranks states in 20 categories.
It leads the nation in low cases of infectious disease, only one other state has less violent crime (Maine is even safer) and is in the top three for least amount of sick days and mental health days taken.
North Dakota has one major blemish on its record -- it leads the nation in binge drinking (21 percent of its population report taking part). It also faces challenges in the adequecy of prenatal care, has too many children living in poverty (16.3 percent) and occupational fatalities.
Still, the good greatly outweighs the bad. There are only three other states that have a lesser rate of premature deaths and only five states has fewer cancer deaths per 100,000 in population.
See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on North Dakota.
Comprehensive Health Association of North Dakota
(North Dakota health insurance risk pool)
Toll-free 1-800-737-0016 or (701) 277-2271
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 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.
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.
Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in North Dakota at Google News or Yahoo News.

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.
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 North Dakota.
North Dakota Department of Health -- The State Health Officer's comprehensive site for health care information for state residents.
North Dakota Insurance Department -- health insurance section -- look for links to pages of information in the left-hand navigation bar.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) -- 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.