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With Every Kid Healthy Week kicking off on April 23 and children’s health care costs getting increasingly more expensive, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best & Worst States for Children's Health Care.

In order to determine which states offer the most cost-effective and highest-quality health care for children, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 30 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of children aged 0 to 17 in excellent or very good health to pediatricians and family doctors per capita.
 

Best for Children’s Health Care

Worst for Children’s Health Care

1.

Vermont

42.

Arizona

2.

District of Columbia

43.

Alaska

3.

Massachusetts

44.

Wyoming

4.

Connecticut

45.

Oklahoma

5.

New York

46.

Montana

6.

Maryland

47.

Arkansas

7.

Hawaii

48.

Mississippi

8.

New Hampshire

49.

Texas

9.

New Jersey

50.

Louisiana

10.

California

51.

Nevada

Best vs. Worst

• Massachusetts has the lowest share of uninsured children aged 0 to 17, 1.3 percent, which is 8.8 times lower than in Alaska, the highest at 11.5 percent.
   
• The District of Columbia has the lowest share of children aged 0 to 17 with unaffordable medical bills, 5.20 percent, which is 3.3 times lower than in Nevada, the highest at 17.00 percent.
   
• The District of Columbia has the most pediatricians per 100,000 residents, 45.52, which is 25.1 times more than in Oklahoma, the fewest at 1.81.
   
• New Hampshire has the lowest share of obese children aged 10 to 17, 8.50 percent, which is 3.1 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest at 26.20 percent.
   
• Iowa has the highest share of dentists participating in Medicaid for child dental services, 83.70 percent, which is 5.7 times higher than in New Hampshire, the lowest at 14.80 percent.

 
For the full report and to see where your state or the District ranks, please visit: 
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-child-health/34455/

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3 Tips For Guarding Your Money

Against Inflation

Inflation may be creeping up on Americans, which could mean your investments and retirement savings won’t be worth as much as you hoped.

“The average person doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about inflation, but it isn’t something you can ignore if you hope to build a nest egg that can see you through hard times – and retirement,” says John Hagensen, founder and managing director of Keystone Wealth Partners (www.Keystonewealthpartners.com) and author of Unleash Your Investments.

How significant is inflation?

Hagensen suggests thinking back to that time as a kid when you asked your grandfather to buy you a Snickers bar and he nostalgically replied that a candy bar only cost him a nickel back in his day. Today candy bars average about $1.50.

“That’s just one example of how what once would have seemed like a lot of money doesn’t buy anywhere as much as it did in the past,” he says.

Inflation isn’t accelerating dramatically – at least not yet – but it is on the upswing. In March, the consumer price index jumped to 2.4 percent, up from 2.2 percent a month earlier. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, increased to 2.1 percent from 1.8 percent.

What does all this mean for your money right now? Hagensen offers three tips for anyone who wants to try to avoid the insidious creep of inflation:

• Avoid long-term bonds. The Fed has planned gradual interest-rate hikes this year, and rising interest rates mean falling bond prices. But not all fixed-income investments are created equal, Hagensen says. “The longer until a bond matures, the more drastic the decline will be as rates increase,” he says. For many, the plan to mitigate this “interest-rate risk” consists of simply avoiding the urge to sell bonds on the secondary market at a loss. But Hagensen says that’s often nothing more than “jumping out of the frying pan and into fire." Historically, your money has to double every 20 to 25 years to simply keep up with inflation, he says. Therefore, you will likely find yourself disappointed by the purchasing power of your original bond investment when the principal is finally returned at maturity.
• Avoid long-term CDs. This should be intuitive. “If inflation is occurring and interest rates are rising, then there’s little logic in ‘locking up’ your savings at lower rates than what you suspect will soon be available,” Hagensen says. If you are adamant about owning CDs in a rising-interest-rate environment, a laddering approach may be prudent. Even so, he advises staying short-term with maturity dates. 
• Broadly diversify. If you have a long-time horizon, it’s likely your asset allocation consists of equities. “Inflation can have a relatively benign impact on your portfolio, assuming you maintain financial discipline during times of market fluctuations while possessing adequate cash reserves to cover short-term needs,” Hagensen says. If you’re nearing or entering retirement and want a more predictable short-term approach, he says, it may still be prudent to diversify a portion of your portfolio into equities as a complement to your more stable asset categories.

“Regardless of what your personal situation is,” Hagensen says, “you can’t ignore the fact that inflation has the potential to upset your carefully arranged financial plans.”

About John Hagensen

John Hagensen is the founder and managing director of Keystone Wealth Partners (www.Keystonewealthpartners.com). He also is author of Unleash Your Investments and hosts a weekly radio show, Myth Busting with Keystone Wealth Partners. His vision in starting his firm was to deliver financial planning strategies free from Wall Street’s embedded conflicts of interest. Hagensen holds the credentials of Certified Funds Specialist, Certified Annuity Specialist, Certified Estate & Trust Specialist, Certified Tax Specialist and Certified Income Specialist. He also holds a designation from the National Social Security Association.

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UNITED UTAH PARTY ANNOUNCES 2018 STATE CONVENTION
Statewide gathering will allow all UUP members to act as delegates
 

MIDVALE, UT – On Saturday, April 28, at 10:00 am, the United Utah Party will be holding its State Convention at Midvale Middle School. This will be the second state convention for the party, which held its first convention to nominate Jim Bennett as the candidate in last year’s special congressional election in Utah’s Third District. Bennett will be speaking at this year’s convention, along with Richard Davis, the United Utah Party Chair.

“What a difference a year makes,” Davis said. “Last year, we weren’t sure if we were even going to get a spot on the ballot. This year, we have nineteen candidates running for offices all across the state, and we have a great deal of momentum behind us.”

Davis cited the 900 people who turned out to last month’s first UUP caucuses as evidence that people are looking for a new political home. “People are fed up with the broken two-party system,” Davis said. “The United Utah Party is the common-sense alternative that represents mainstream Utah voters.” 

In an unprecedented move, the United Utah Party allows all members of the party to act as delegates to the convention. “The goal is to be as inclusive as possible,” Davis said. “The traditional two-party convention system is designed to shut people out of the process, and we want to turn that around and get people directly engaged in choosing their representatives.” 

Those unable to travel to the convention can also participate in satellite locations throughout the state. Information on how to participate remotely will be posted at unitedutah.org on April 21st after specific locations are finalized.