Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has stated that, by 2011, he hopes to reduce the number of uninsureds by 500,000. He also hopes to increase the number of Ohio small businesses that offer health insurance to their workers.

Generally, uninsured Ohioans:

·        Live in households with a full-time worker

·        Are high school graduates

·        Have been uninsured for more than one year

·        Live in urban areas

When compared to insured residents, uninsured Ohioans:

·        Are in poorer health

·        Receive less timely care

·        Receive less preventive and primary care

·        Are less productive

·        Have more medical debt

·        Are less productive and live shorter lives

So…without bankrupting the state and unnecessarily charging Ohio’s insureds, what can be done?

Ohio health care coverage for uninsured residents must focus on prevention, continuity of care, and ease of use. Ohio’s existing public and private health care systems should be the backbone of the reform. Major health insurance companies should remain an integral part of the solution…not just brushed aside.

Some guiding principles that reflect Governor Strickland’s goal of reducing the number of Ohio uninsureds are:

·        We all must take personal responsibility for reducing health care costs, which includes taking proactive actions to keep ourselves healthy.

·        Reforms must be sustainable in the long-term, and have a measurable impact.

·        All Ohioans, including people with serious health conditions, must have access to affordable health care.

·        Ohio health care coverage should include tools and techniques that allow its residents to maintain good health, and seek treatment, if needed, as quickly as possible.

One of the best ways to encourage Ohio’s uninsureds to obtain quality and affordable health care, is to provide tax credits for a portion of the premiums, and make preventative treatment a condition to continue those tax credits.

Perhaps, by 2011, such an initiative will become a reality. But don’t hold your breath.

Eight different brokers called you. Two were from Ohio, two from Florida, two from Texas and a gentleman from Nigeria offered to share his lottery winnings with you if you bought a health insurance policy from him.

Often, Ohio health insurance quote websites will sell your name and information to as many as eight different brokers. And those eight may also resell your name and information to some more brokers.

Maddening isn’t it? It might be too late, but I have created a Top-10 list of “Do’s and Don’ts” when going online and requesting an Ohio health insurance quote.

Here they are:

10. If any broker asks for your credit card number, checking account number, or attempts to charge you an application fee…run away!

9. If any broker insists they are calling from Ohio, but your caller ID indicates otherwise…run away!

8. If any broker says that you better “lock in the rate” since the premium is going up the next day…run away!

7. If any broker is unwilling or unable to send you a hard-copy proposal in the mail…run away!

6. If any broker insinuates that only they can offer you the lowest available rate…run away!

5. If any broker thinks the Ohio State Buckeyes are a band from the 1980s…run away!

4. If any broker quotes rates from a company you never heard of…run away!

3. If any broker tells you they can’t email the proposal, and they need to show you in person… run away!

2. If any broker tells you that you don’t have to pay the first monthly premium since you won the Nigerian lottery…then run away!

1. And finally…If any broker tells you that you have to pay your premiums in Euros…run away!

After that long list, let me tell you the best way to get an affordable Ohio health insurance quote. Simply click on the “Get Instant Quote” at the top of the page or click on the following link: http://www.ohioquotes.com

I guarantee that they won’t sell your information to anybody! I should know, because I’m the owner of the website!

Escalating health insurance premiums for Ohio workers have outstripped pay increases since 2000, growing at a rate nearly nine times as fast as wages.

The average cost to workers for a family insurance plan grew more than 80 percent from 2000 to 2007. Wages during the same time rose just 8.9 percent, according to a study by Families USA.

The nonprofit national health advocacy organization analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the study.

Good News

The good news, is that Ohio individual health insurance rates, when compared to other states, are still low.

Of course, there are still many Ohio residents without medical coverage. A solid majority of Ohioans feel so strongly that all Americans should have health care that they are willing to experience some pain themselves — in the wallet.

Fifty-six percent in a Columbus Dispatch Poll say expanded health care accompanied by higher taxes is preferable to lower taxes with fewer people covered.

Health Care Spending

At an estimated $2.4 trillion this year, costs of the U.S. health-care industry have doubled in the last decade, increasing scrutiny and demands for efficiency in both the private and public sectors. Total spending on health care could increase from 16 percent of the gross domestic product last year to a quarter in 2025 — and nearly a half by 2082, predicts the Congressional Budget Office.

Affordable Ohio health insurance plans are still available. The premier source for Ohio health insurance quotes is still http://www.ohioquotes.com