Affordable health insurance for the individual, the family and the self-employed

Rhode Island Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island is the 11th healthiest state in which to live, according to the 2007 edition of an annual ranking by a leading national foundation.

It leads the nation in having the lowest percentage of uninsured: 8.6 percent. That's a signifcant drop from the year before, when Rhode Island placed 15th with 11.5 percent uninsured.

Only one state has fewer occupational fatalities than Rhode Island. The state also enjoys a low rate of obesity, few violent crimes, good access to prenatal care and is fifth in the national for its number of primary care physicians (based on population).

There are 20 categories looked at in ranking the states. Rhode Island is in the bottom 10 in only one -- only eight states have a bigger problem with binge drinking.

Smoking was on the decline in the latest ranking, but not as fast as in other states. Even though smoking dropped .6 percent to 19.2, the state's rank increased from 14th to 20th.

See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Rhode Island.

Does Rhode Island have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

No, Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island

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

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Rhode Island

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 Rhode Island.

News headlines on Rhode Island health insurance

Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Rhode Island 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 Jack Reed
PHONE: 202-224-4642 (DC office)
FAX: 202-224-4680 (DC office)
Local offices
Contact by E-mail

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
PHONE: 202-224-2921 (DC office)
FAX: 202-228-6362 (DC office)
Local offices
Contact by E-mail

Contact your state officials:

Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri
State House, Room 115
Providence, RI 02903
PHONE: (401) 222-2080
FAX: (401) 222-8096
Contact by e-mail
Contact your Rhode Island State Senator and State Representative

USNews health insurance rankings for Rhode Island

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 Rhode Island.

Official State Goverment Sites with Rhode Island Health Insurance Information

Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner -- congrats to the State of Rhode Island, for establishing a dedicated office to aid health insurance consumers and promote the state health care system. Follow the links at left to access consumer information.

Rhode Island Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) -- The Rhode Island Medical Assistance Program, also known as " Medicaid", is a federal and state funded program that pays for medical and health related services for eligible Rhode Islanders.