Virginia Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Virginia?

The 2007 updates to the rankings of the healthiest states in which to live slots Virginia in the 22nd position.

In the 20 areas that determine the ranks, Virginia plays it close to the center, not ranking in the top ten at either end of the scale, which is unusual (most states have more of a swing between good and bad). In fact, it only has two in the bottom 20 -- it's 31st in infant mortality and 38th in per capita spending on public health.

Virginia's highest marks are #12s in availabilty of primary care physicians and low occurances of binge drinking (which is largely a problem in the upper midwest).

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

Does Virginia have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

No, Virginia 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 Virginia

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

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Virginia

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 Virginia.

News headlines on Virginia health insurance

Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Virginia 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 John Warner
  PHONE: 202-224-2023 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-6295 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail

• Senator Jim Webb
  PHONE: 202-224-4024 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-228-6363 (DC office)
  Local offices (scroll down)
  Contact by E-mail
  
  

Contact your state officials:

• Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
  Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor
  1111 East Broad Street
  Richmond, Virginia 23219
  PHONE: (804) 786-2211
  FAX: (804) 371-6351
  Contact by e-mail
  
  
  
• Contact members of the Virginia General Assembly

USNews health insurance rankings for Virginia

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 Virginia.

Official State Goverment Sites with Virginia Health Insurance Information

Virginia's Bureau of Insurance -- consumer information for state citizens dealing with agents or companies.

Virginia Department of Health -- a site rich in information for Virginia citizens concerned about their health.

Virginia Health Insurance Guide for Consumers State of Virgina's PDF document with information about traditional health insurance and managed care health insurance plans.

FAMIS (Family Access to Medical Insuracne Security) -- is Virginia's low-cost health insurance for children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but do not have private health insurance.
Bienvenida al sitio Web de FAMIS -- is Virginia's low-cost health insurance for children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but do not have private health insurance.