United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings® Finds North Carolina Ranks 32nd

Dec. 6, 2011 - PRLog -- NORTH CAROLINA - The 2011 America’s Health Rankings®, released today by United Health Foundation in collaboration with the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention, finds that troubling nationwide increases in obesity, diabetes and children in poverty are offsetting improvements in smoking cessation, premature deaths, preventable hospitalizations and cardiovascular deaths. The report finds that the country’s overall health did not improve between 2010 and 2011 – a drop from the 0.5-percent average annual rate of improvement between 2000 and 2010 and the 1.6-percent average annual rate of improvement seen in the 1990s.

UnitedHealthcare watches America’s Health Rankings closely to help understand the health care needs of individuals and communities nationwide and in North Carolina, and has several programs in place to address these needs.

“America’s Health Rankings from United Health Foundation is an incredibly valuable tool for us to clearly understand health trends facing us as a nation and here in N.C.,” said Dr. John Rennick, medical director, UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina. “By identifying the key opportunities we face as a state we can pursue innovative solutions to those opportunities.”

North Carolina’s Bill of Health
According to the 22nd Edition of America’s Health Rankings, North Carolina is 32nd this year compared to 36th in 2010 when compared with the health of other states. This year’s report finds that, just like every other state, North Carolina has its share of strengths and challenges.

North Carolina’s Strengths
•   Low prevalence of binge drinking – 8th / 12 percent of adult population
•   Low incidence of infectious disease – 15th / 7 cases per 100,000 population
•   High immunization coverage – 6th / 93.2 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months

North Carolina’s Challenges
•   Low per capita public health funding – 42nd / $53 per person
•   High percentage of children in poverty – 47th / 27.6 percent of persons under age 18
•   High infant mortality rate – 46th / 8.3 deaths per 1,000 live births

UnitedHealthcare Programs Address N.C.’s Health Needs
UnitedHealthcare has several programs in place that seek to address the health needs underscored in this year’s America’s Health Rankings.

•   UnitedHealth HEROES program and grants awarded in N.C. to combat childhood obesity
•   Healthy Pregnancy Program

All 50 States: Vermont Still the Healthiest
For the fifth year in a row, Vermont was the nation’s healthiest state. States that showed the most substantial improvement include New York and New Jersey, both moving up six places. Idaho and Alaska showed the most downward movement. Idaho dropped 10 spots, from number nine to 19 in this year’s Rankings, and Alaska dropped five places.  

Nationwide: Progress in Some Areas Offset by Setbacks in Others
This year’s Rankings highlight several positive nationwide trends. Improvements were made in:

•   Smoking cessation: 17.3 percent of the population smoked in 2011, down from 17.9 percent in 2010 – a 3.4-percent decline since 2010; a 25.4-percent decline since 2001.
•   Preventable hospitalizations: 70.6 preventable hospitalizations per 1,000 Medicare enrollees in 2011, down from 68.2 preventable hospitalizations in 2010 – a 3.4-percent decline since 2010; a 17.3-percent decline since 2001.
•   Cardiovascular deaths: 270.4 deaths per 100,000 in 2011, down from 278.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2010 – a 2.8-percent decline since 2010; a 22.2-percent decline since 2001

While this year’s Rankings showed notable improvements, they were offset by troubling increases in:

•   Obesity: From 26.9 percent of the adult population in 2010 to 27.5 percent in 2011 – a 2.2-percent increase since 2010; a 37.5-percent increase since 2001; 2011 is the first year when no state had an obesity prevalence under 20 percent.
•   Diabetes: From 8.3 percent in 2010 to 8.7 percent in 2011 – a 4.8-percent increase since 2010; a 42.6-percent increase since 2001.
•   Children in poverty: From 20.7 percent in 2010 to 21.5 percent in 2011 – a 3.9-percent increase since 2010; a 33.5-percent increase since 2001.

The fact that the country did not improve at all in overall health status means there was a total balance between improvements and detriments across all 23 measures. A compelling example of this stagnation is improvements in the number of smokers being off-set by worsening rates of obesity: the Rankings found that, for every person who quit smoking in 2011, another person became obese.

To see the Rankings in full, please visit: www.americashealthrankings.org.