Untitled Document
Vermont is The Healthiest
State in the Nation
Montpelier (November 5, 2007) Vermont is the healthiest state in the
nation, according to the 2007 edition of Americas Health Rankings, released
today by the United Health Foundation. This is the first time Vermont has captured
the top spot, climbing steadily from being ranked eighth in 2001. Vermont surpassed
the previous leader Minnesota, which was ranked second this year.
According to the United Health Foundation, Vermont is among the top 10 states
in 14 of 20 measures. The states strengths include high immunization
coverage with 86 percent of children between the ages of 19 to 35 months receiving
complete immunizations, and a low premature death rate.
The quality of care provided by Vermonts physicians and other health
care providers is a significant reason for the states top ranking, said
Paul Harrington, executive vice president of the Vermont Medical Society. Vermont
physicians work extremely hard to make sure all their patients have the best
possible health care, despite the fact that reimbursement rates here tend to
be lower than other parts of the country. I think it really speaks to the dedication
and skills of Vermonts physician community, he said.
While about 10 percent of Vermonts population is uninsured (the ninth
lowest rate in the country), Vermonts physicians do provide a large amount
of free care to their patients who lack coverage and cannot afford to pay, noted
Glen Neale, M.D., president of the Vermont Medical Society. Vermonts
physicians are very generous with their time, because they realize the importance
of everyone having access to good health care, he said. That is also
evidenced by the fact that about 91 percent of Vermonts physicians participate
in the states Medicaid program, despite reimbursement that is about half
of what commercial insurers pay.
The adequacy of prenatal care has been one area where Vermont has seen major
improvements, going from 62.6 percent of pregnant women having adequate care
in 1990 to 86.4 percent in 2007 (second highest in the nation). Infant mortality
has dropped from 9.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 5.3 deaths per
1,000 live births in 2007.
The number of cardiovascular deaths has declined from 409 per 100,000 of population
in 1990 to 287.9 per 100,000 in 2007. The number of cancer deaths has shrunk
from 209.2 per 100,000 of population in 1990 to 195.4 per 100,000 in 2007.
A number of public health factors have influenced Vermonts steady rise
to the top of the rankings, the United Health Foundation said. For example,
since 1990 the prevalence of smoking in Vermont has decreased from 30.7 percent
to 18 percent of the adult population, and the incidence of infectious disease
decreased from 20.3 to 6.4 cases per 100,000 population.
Vermonts physicians have been working with the Vermont Department
of Health and following guidelines for improving public health, Dr. Neale
said. Being ranked the healthiest state in the nation is an indicator
that our efforts are paying off.
Reference: http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2007/states/Vermont.html