Health Insurance Nation fails in women’s health care Written by Penny Gusner Penny Gusner Penny is an expert on insurance procedures, rates, policies and claims. She has extensive knowledge of all major insurance lines -- auto, homeowners, life and health insurance. She has been answering consumers’ questions as an analyst for more than 15 years and has been featured in numerous major media outlets, including the Washington Post and Kiplinger’s. | Reviewed by Michelle Megna Michelle Megna Michelle, the former editorial director, insurance, at QuinStreet, is a writer, editor and expert on car insurance and personal finance. Prior to joining QuinStreet, she reported and edited articles on technology, lifestyle, education and government for magazines, websites and major newspapers, including the New York Daily News. | Posted on: December 7, 2009 Why you can trust Insure.com Quality Verified At Insure.com, we are committed to providing the timely, accurate and expert information consumers need to make smart insurance decisions. All our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. Our team carefully vets our rate data to ensure we only provide reliable and up-to-date insurance pricing. We follow the highest editorial standards. Our content is based solely on objective research and data gathering. We maintain strict editorial independence to ensure unbiased coverage of the insurance industry. Report card on women’s health, 2007 The grades: S=Satisfactory, U=Unsatisfactory, F=Fail State 2007 rank 2007 grade Vermont 1 S- Minnesota 2 S- Massachusetts 3 S- Connecticut 4 U New Hampshire 5 U Colorado 6 U Hawaii 7 U Maine 8 U Washington 9 U California 10 U Rhode Island 11 U Iowa 12 U Montana 13 U Oregon 14 U Utah 15 U Kansas 16 U North Dakota 17 U Nebraska 18 U Arizona 19 U New Jersey 20 U Wisconsin 21 U South Dakota 22 U Virginia 23 U Florida 24 U Maryland 25 U Alaska 26 U New York 27 U Wyoming 28 U Delaware 29 U Michigan 30 U Ohio 31 U Pennsylvania 32 U Illinois 33 U Idaho 34 U New Mexico 35 U North Carolina 36 U Georgia 37 U Missouri 38 U Nevada 39 U Indiana 40 F Alabama 41 F Texas 42 F South Carolina 43 F District of Columbia 44 F Tennessee 45 F Kentucky 46 F West Virginia 47 F Oklahoma 48 F Arkansas 49 F Louisiana 50 F Mississippi 51 F Source: “Making the Grade on Women’s Health” The United States overall gets a big “Unsatisfactory” grade when it comes to women’s health care, according to the National Women’s Law Center and the Oregon Health & Science University. “Making the Grade on Women’s Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card” is the organizations’ annual report that assesses the overall health of women at state and national levels. No state received an overall “Satisfactory” grade. The 2007 report card has two major findings: 1) States are falling increasingly behind in reaching national goals for women’s health, and 2) Significant improvements need to be made in order to have any chance of reaching health objectives by 2010. These health objectives have been put forth by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’s) “Healthy People 2010.” The report card measures 27 benchmarks that indicate women’s access to health care services, the degree to which they receive preventive health care and engage in health-promoting activities, the occurrence of certain women’s health conditions, and the extent to which the communities promote health and well-being. See the full report on the National Women’s Law Center Web site. Missing benchmarks The nation is failing to meet 12 of the 27 benchmarks, up from nine in the 2004 Report Card. Other notable benchmark news: The most improved indicators were stroke and coronary heart disease death rates, but the country still receives an overall F grade in these. All states declined in obesity status. The most improved policies among states were coverage of smoking cessation services in Medicaid and increases in the minimum wage. The most declined policies among states were co-payments on prescription dugs covered by Medicaid and requiring waiting periods for women who need an abortion. Only two policy goals were met by all states: Medicaid coverage for breast and cervical cancer treatment and participation in the Food Stamp Nutrition and Education Program. Related Articles Pregnancy complicates health insurance options More health insurance stories