Tennessee Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Tennessee?

Tennessee inched up to #44 in the 2009 ranking of the healthiest states by the United Health Foundation.

The state's best and worst category rankings:

• Prevalence of smoking – 45
• Prevalence of bing drinking – 3
• Prevalence of obesity – 47
• Violent crime – 48
• Children in poverty – 40
• Air pollution – 40
• Immunization coverage – 4
• Preventable hospitalizations – 46

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

Does Tennessee have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

Tennessee's Tenncare Program
1-888-486-9355

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Tennessee will offer health coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Tennessee'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.

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

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

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Tennessee

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 help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Tennessee.

USNews health insurance rankings for Tennessee

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 Tennessee.

Official State Goverment Sites with Tennessee Health Insurance Information

Tennessee Insurance Division, Department of Commerce and Insurance -- state-recommended resources for those Tennesseans seeking health coverage.

TennCare Oversight Division, Department of Commerce and Insurance -- oversees, examines and monitors Health Maintenance Organizations and Behavioral Health Organizations participating in the TennCare program.

TennCare Program -- Tennessee’s Medicaid managed care program that provides health coverage for 1.2 million low-income children, pregnant woman and disabled Tennesseans.