Health Insurance Articles
How Hawaii Has Succeeded In The Realm Of Healthcare Benefits
2009-10-24
Known as "Paradise of the Pacific" for its beautiful beaches, exotic flowers and breathtaking cliffs, Hawaii is certainly one of the world's favorite vacation destinations. Sun, surf and fun - Hawaii has it all. But the fiftieth state has more than just that. The island, President Obama's native state, is also known for something many residents consider even more important - affordable healthcare. For the last 35 years, all employers in Hawaii are required to provide "generous" healthcare benefits to any employee who works 20 hours a week or more. What that means for employees is despite the rise of market inflation, in which milk sells for $8 a gallon and gas costs $3.60 a gallon, Hawaii's health insurance premiums are among the lowest in the nation. Plus, Medicare costs per beneficiary are the lowest in the country.
Hawaii Residents are living healthier and longer lives than the rest of the country, according to recent surveys. And the state's healthcare is considered one of the reasons behind it. While Hawaii has the highest rate of breast cancer in the U.S., it also has the lowest incidence of death from the disease. Examples like this have lawmakers who are working on a national healthcare reform wondering what they could learn from Hawaii's health insurance system. Having been established in 1974, these benefits that have proven advantageous for Hawaiians would be difficult, and almost silly, to take away.
Hawaii's experience - overhauling health insurance before changing the way care is provided - could possibly work in time. According to the New York Times, insurance and hospital executives in Hawaii say they have been able to innovate efficiencies as more people have been given access to care. Covering about 20 percent of the population, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii had the highest breast cancer screening rates in the nation, with 85 percent of women 42 to 69 receiving their recommended mammograms.
Emergency rooms in Hawaiian hospitals are relatively calm in comparison to most hospitals in the U.S. The state had 264 outpatient visits to emergency rooms per 1,000 people in 2007. That is 34 percent less than the national average of 401. According to the New York Times, Dr. Ray Sebastian, who splits his time between the emergency room at Kapi'olani Medical Center at Pali Momi and a hospital in Los Angeles, says practically all of his poorest patients in Hawaii have routine access to family doctors who can provide follow-up care. Such is not the case in Los Angeles, where fewer than half do, he estimated. As a result, emergency rooms in Hawaii are not crowded with patients suffering minor ailments.
Ultimately, Hawaii seems to provide the U.S. government with an example of how proper healthcare can benefit the population.
