Oklahoma Health Insurance

How healthy is living
in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma is rated as the 42nd healthiest state in the 2012 edition of America's Health Rankings® by the United Health Foundation. The state's highest rating in the 23-year history of American's Health Rankings is 32nd.

The good news:

• The percentage of children in poverty dropped from 25.0 percent in 2011 to 20.7 percent in 2012.
• The rate of preventable hospitalization has declined during the past five-year period. However, it remains higher than the rate seen in most other states.

The bad news:

• More than one in four adults smokes – that translates to 745,000 smokers.
• Public health funding decreased by $18 per person last year. However, Oklahoma is ranked 15th in this category.

Oklahoma's best and worst category rankings:

• Infectious Disease – 11th
• Binge Drinking – 12th
• Public Health Funding – 15th
• Cancer Deaths – 46th
• Cardiovascular Deaths – 48th
• Primary Care Physicians – 49th

more details

• See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Oklahoma.
• Trust for America's Health ia another source for key Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma here.

get local health results

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

Does Oklahoma have a health insurance high risk pool?

Oklahoma Health Insurance High Risk Pool
Toll-free 1-877-885-3717

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

• 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 Oklahoma.
• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is tracking the progress of health insurance reform in each state. Its page for Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma health insurance plan report cards.

Oklahoma state government health insurance resources

Oklahoma CHIP —  The children’s health insurance program for Oklahomans.

SoonerCare (Oklahoma Medicaid) —  A health coverage program jointly funded by the federal and state government. This program helps pay some or all medical bills for many people who can’t afford them.

Oklahoma Health Care Authority —  The primary entity in the state of Oklahoma charged with controlling costs of state-purchased health care.

How did Oklahoma 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 (5)

• Dan Boren
• Tom Cole

• James Lankford
• Frank Lucas

• John Sullivan