Oklahoma Health Insurance

State Rankings

Oklahoma healthcare follows roughly the same negative trends as many other similar southern states. The state is near the bottom in all healthcare outcomes and determinants categories. Healthcare determinants are those categories that affect the health status of Oklahoma residents. Such Oklahoma healthcare statistics include smoking and obesity, both of which see Oklahoma near the bottom of the state rankings. Nearly 25% of adult Oklahomans smoke, which is 48th in the nation, and over 31% of residents are also obese, according to United Health Foundation. Where Oklahoma healthcare truly suffers, though, is in the clinical care categories. Women have one of the lowest percentages of first trimester prenatal care visits, and the state also ranks low in preventable hospitalizations. Oklahoma is also 49th out of 50 for the number of primary care physicians, with less than half the number of the top state in the rankings, Massachusetts, which has 191 general care physicians per 100,000 residents to Oklahoma's 81.

Healthcare in Oklahoma

Despite the negatives, Oklahoma healthcare still has a few bright spots. Preventable hospitalizations have decreased in the past year, and the smoking rate decreased as well. Like other southern states, binge drinking is a rare occurrence in Oklahoma. The percentage of uninsured Oklahomans is also lower than the national average of 17%, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Oklahoma Department of Health hopes that increasing numbers of community-based funding initiatives, similar to anti-smoking campaigns, will focus on nutrition and fitness and will start to reverse these negative trends in the near future. The state is also proud of its efforts to increase child immunizations, which has resulted in a top 20 ranking in the number of children immunized in the Oklahoma healthcare system. Oklahoma has several healthcare and Medicare plans that are highly rated by the NCQA: