Longevity and health aren’t easy to improve in the short term, and Hawaiians have an edge: the state’s 43-year-old Prepaid Health Care Act, which sets minimum standards for employer-provided benefits, including coverage for office visits, maternal care and hospital stays for employees working at least 20 hours a week, according to Hilton Raethel, chief executive officer of advocacy group Healthcare Association of Hawaii. A state fund helps defray costs for small businesses.
Hawaii also has lower Medicaid eligibility requirements than most states and high concentrations of union workers and military personnel with medical plans, so about 95 percent of the population has health-care coverage, Raethel said. In addition, Hawaii has a relatively high concentration of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, and “Asians tend to be healthier than many other ethnic groups.” According to newly released Census data, as of 2016, health coverage in Hawaii was 96.5 percent, second only to Massachusetts at 97.5 percent.
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