Five states are considered among the best for individual health insurance. Some have realized the advantage of enacting legislation that will enable people to obtain health insurance is beneficial to that state's economy. Each day emergency rooms are filled with patients, with pre-existing conditions or chronic illnesses needing care but are uninsured. They are painfully aware that this is the only way to receive immediate care, a diagnosis, and prescription. Most of these bills eventually must be paid by that state. The best states for individual health insurance include California, New Mexico, Hawaii, Illinois, and Washington.

In the United States, millions of Americans are without health insurance. Countless numbers have applied for coverage, but were denied because of pre-existing conditions and are forced to utilize free clinics or the local emergency room for treatment. Many citizens are misinformed and erroneously believe that the individual health insurance climate is the same in every state. In some states, it is customary and normal practice for insurance companies to routinely cancel health insurance policies for contrived reasons. Additionally, it is standard practice to deny coverage to prospective policyholders with critical or recurrent illnesses. For example, if a policyholder previously received benefits for a critical illness, subsequent claims can be denied or existing coverage rescinded. Fortunately, there are states that provide better access to health insurance and make it appreciatively less arduous to obtain needed health insurance coverage.

Evaluative criteria used to determine the best states for individual health insurance coverage included statistics on the number of fatalities from "treatable" cancers, number of residents with some form of health insurance, deficiencies or breaches in care caused by income and the insurance coverage status, the rate of infant mortality (infants to age 2), and the number of adults receiving preventative care. Each state received a score based on the following: equality in care (equity), unnecessary hospital costs, quality of care, the number of healthy lives, and access to individual health plans. The above listed states were outstanding, others were marginal, and still others were well below average.

Hawaii, for example, had the highest rating of any state. One reason was because it has mandated that employers provide health insurance to all full-time employees. It also provided provisions for insurance for pre-existing conditions, and was effectively managing medical care expenses.

California, Washington State, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Illinois were among the leaders in the best states for individual health plans. These states have recognized the value and benefit of providing health insurance that is inclusive rather than exclusive.