Health Care System Factors for Health Insurance Coverage

Health Care System Factors

Health insurance coverage is an important part of the health care system. Persons without coverage find it difficult to afford health care, and often delay or fail to obtain necessary care. Dental and mental health care are especially fragile elements of health care coverage. Health plan "report cards" are constructed for managed care plans by the UDOH Office of Health Care Statistics, using information collected from surveys of persons who had those health insurance plans. Persons who lack coverage are more likely to be hospitalized for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (those conditions most effectively treated in outpatient settings). The Utah Department of Health manages Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Primary Care Network (PCN), and Utah's Premium Partnership for Health Insurance, all of which are designed to provide coverage or pay for services for persons who lack private health insurance coverage.