Wisconsin Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin tied with Washington state as the 12th healthiest state in which to live according to a 2007 study by a national health care foundation.

The group ranked states in 20 categories to help them determine their rankings. Wisconsin placed #2 in the nation in two of these categories:

• The percentage of citizens with insurance.
• The percentage of children receiving immunizations.

Wisconsin has a strong educational ethic, too. Nearly 6 percent of incoming freshmen will graduate from high school within four years -- the fourth best record nationally.

Occupational fatalities and infectious disease are also low.

Wisconsin has one major black mark on its record -- it is worst in the nation for binge drinking, with one in four of its citizens reporting problems in this area. Binge drinking is a phenomenom which hits all the upper Midwest states and a handful of northeast states hard. These states, which usually have high overall rankings, will suffer in the next report as that will be the first time this criteria will be added into the overall ranking process (currently it is an auxilliary data point).

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

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Does Wisconsin have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

Wisconsin Health Insurance Risk Sharing Plan
Toll-free 1-800-828-4777

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.

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

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

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Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin.

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News headlines on Wisconsin health insurance

Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Wisconsin at Google News or Yahoo News.

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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 Russ Feingold
  PHONE: 202-224-1280 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-2725 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail

• Senator Herb Kohl
  PHONE: 202-224-5653 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-224-9787 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail
  
  

Contact your state officials:

• Wisconsin Governor James Doyle, Jr.
  Offices and phone numbers
  Contact by e-mail
  
  
  
• Contact your Wisconsin State Senator and State Representative

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USNews health insurance rankings for Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin.

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Official State Goverment Sites with Wisconsin Health Insurance Information

BadgerCare -- a Wisconsin program to provide health care coverage for uninsured families.

BadgerCare PLUS -- a Wisconsin program to provide health care coverage for all kids, regardless of family income, and affordable health care for working families and pregnant women.

Wisconsin Medicaid -- information on the federal/state program to provide health coverage for those without the means to pay for it.

Advocacy

The Coalition for Wisconsin Health -- is a collaborative effort of 60 religious, social concern, human rights, health care and labor organizations, working to reform health care in the United States.

Wisconsin Healthcare For All -- an approach to provide health care for all citizens without a single-payer system.