Almost 83% of the residents of Oregon have Health Insurance. With over 17 percent of residents lacking Health Insurance, this state is below the nation’s average and needs to improve their coverage percentage. The percentage of residents unprotected has been increasing for the past five years, and both Oregon’s Insurance and Public Health Divisions need to work together to ensure that this tendency stops, and hopefully gets reversed in a near future.

A weighing factor of Health Insurance coverage across the state, the percentage of employers offering health insurance to employees across the state, has also been lowering consistently over the past five years. This year, about 57% of Oregon employers are offering health benefits to employees, a benefit that 83.7% of workers are taking advantage of.

Oregon is a state that receives very few public health funding (only $54 per capita), but although the funding may be scarce, Health Care across the state is available and ready for residents. There are approximately 124 primary care physicians for every 100,000 residents in Oregon, and the coverage percentage of medical care among residents is almost 86%. This is a state that offers its residents good and competent Health Care, but not extremely accessible. Federally Qualified Health Centers within the state serve over 17% of residents living under the 200% FPL.

If you are looking for health insurance plans in Oregon, we highly suggest that you visit the site of Oregon’s Insurance Division, which has a consumer guide, and a list of all licensed companies and agents authorized to sell you Health Insurance within the state. If you have been denied coverage in the past, also check the site of Oregon’s Medical Insurance Pool, which cover adults and children who are unable to obtain medical insurance because of health conditions.

Health Information:

Health Ranking:  #16
State Health Department Web Site: http://oregon.gov/DHS/

There is no better time as right now for Oregon, in terms of health. This state has consistently worked on increasing its healthiness, and this year, the United Health Foundation has ranked it as the 16th healthiest state in the nation. This is a great accomplishment for Oregon, since it’s the highest rank it has received within the past twenty years. But the improvement of Oregon’s health is not luck, is the result of hard work and a healthy lifestyle among its residents. Two of the biggest accomplishments in the past twenty years for Oregon include the decrease of infectious disease cases and the decrease in the infant mortality rate.

Despite the low public health funding, primary health care within the state is good and efficient, with high percentages of primary care physicians per 100,000 residents and low incidences of unnecessary hospitalizations. Oregon needs to continue working as hard as it has worked for the past 20 years, but already as it is, Oregon is a very healthy place to live.

Health Highlights

• The rate of infectious disease cases has been reduced from 92.8 to 11.8 cases per 100,000 residents since 1990.
• In Oregon, infant mortality rate decreased from 9.9 to 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, and is now one of the 15th lowest rates in the country.
• This state has the seventh lowest percentage of smokers within the state. Only 16.9 of the residents within the state are smokers.
• Oregon has the third lowest rate of preventable hospitalizations in America, with 51.2 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees. It also has a great rate of primary care physicians per 100,000 residents, at 124.
• Residents of Oregon suffer very few poor mental health days per month at 3.0 days in the previous 30 days.
• The percentage of poverty among underage residents, has lowered in the past year, and is now slightly below the national average, with 15.3% of children living in poverty conditions.

Health Weaknesses

• One of Oregon’s biggest health challenges at the moment is the high percentage of uninsured residents, as 17.3% of Oregonians are unprotected.
• The state has the second lowest percentage of children receiving complete immunization coverage. Only 72.4% of toddlers across the state receive complete immunizations.
• The state has very low Public Health Funding per capita, at $54 per person.
• Oregon’s residents suffer from a high rate poor physical health days, at 3.6 days per month, below the national average.

Oregon Health Insurance Quotes

In order to save on health insurance in Oregon and find the best match for your personal coverage needs, you need more information than any one health insurance company can provide. You need to be able to review quotes from a broad range of Oregon health insurance companies and see how their plan rates and benefits stack up. That is why we enable you to choose from a broad range of insurance companies and health insurance plans available in Oregon.

Oregon Health Insurance News

As a resident of Oregon, it’s always important to be informed of the latest events and news regarding Health Insurance in your state. Here are some of the latest headlines that mention Health Care and Health Insurance related topics for Oregon:

Oregon Insurance and Department of Health Information

If you have any additional questions or need special assistance, feel free to visit or contact Oregon’s Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation and Department of Community Health directly:

Oregon Insurance Division
Mailing address:
PO Box 14480
Salem, OR 97309-0405
Street address:
350 Winter St NE Room 440
Salem, OR 97301-3883
Phone: (503) 947-7980
http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/ins/index.html

Oregon Public Health Division
800 NE Oregon Street
Portland, OR 97232
Phone: (971) 673-1222
http://oregon.gov/DHS/