State Changes from 2006

In the last year, states have had both successes and improvements.  Some examples of state successes since 1990 are in Table 18.

Table 20 shows comparisons of scores and rankings between 2006 and 2007.  Comparisons of state scores for these two years indicate that 30 states had positive changes in their overall scores on health and 20 had declines.  The largest positive increases were in South Carolina, Montana, Maryland and New Mexico, all of which increased by 4.5 points or more (Table 8). 

Table 8 - States with the Greatest Overall Health Score Improvement - 2006 to 2007

                                                        South Carolina                 +6.3

                                                        Montana                          +4.6

                                                        Maryland                         +4.5

                                                        New Mexico                     +4.5                                                   

The principal reasons for the changes in the above states are:

• South Carolina:  In the last year, the percentage of children in poverty in the state decreased from 19.4 percent to 15.6 percent of persons under age 18, the rate of uninsured population decreased from 17.3 percent to 15.9 percent and the high school graduation rate increased from 59.7 percent to 60.6 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years.  Overall, the health determinants rank equally with health outcomes, indicating that South Carolina is not likely to increase its overall ranking significantly in the near future.
   
• Montana:  In the last year, the violent crime rate decreased in Montana from 282 to 254 offenses per 100,000 population, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 19.8 percent to 17.2 percent of persons under age 18 and the rate of uninsured population increased from 15.6 percent to 17.1 percent of the population.  Overall, the health determinants rank equally to health outcomes indicating that Montana is not likely to increase its overall ranking significantly in the near future.
   
• Maryland:  In the last year, the prevalence of smoking declined from 18.9 percent to 17.7 percent of the population in the state and the percentage of children in poverty declined from 13.3 percent to 10.9 percent of persons under age 18.   The violent crime rate also decreased from 704 to 679 offenses per 100,000 population.   Overall, the health determinants rank about equally to health outcomes, indicating that Maryland is not likely to increase its overall ranking significantly in the near future.  Health outcomes did improve in the last year in the state, with the premature death rate decreasing from 8,117 to 7,899 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population.
   
• New Mexico:  In the last year, the prevalence of smoking declined from 21.5 percent to 20.1 percent of the population, the high school graduation rate increased from 63.1 percent to 67.0 percent of ninth graders who graduate within four years and the percentage of children in poverty declined from 24.7 percent to 23.2 percent of persons under age 18.  However, the rate of uninsured population increased from 20.3 percent to 22.9 percent and the rate of preventable hospitalizations increased from 60.9 to 67.0 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.

The states with the largest decreases in their overall health score (Table 9) were Kansas and New Jersey.  Other states’ declines were less than 3.0 points. 

 Table 9 - States with the Greatest Overall Health Score Decline - 2006 to 2007

                                                        Kansas                             -3.8

                                                        New Jersey                       -3.0

The principal reasons for the changes in the above states are:

• Kansas:  In the last year, the prevalence of smoking increased from 17.8 percent to 20.0 percent of the population, the prevalence of obesity increased from 23.9 percent to 25.9 percent of the population and the rate of uninsured population increased from 10.3 percent to 12.3 percent.   Health determinants, as a group, were ranked lower than health outcomes, indicating that Kansas may experience a further decline in its overall ranking in the future.
   

• New Jersey:  In the last year, the rate of uninsured population in the state increased from 14.5 percent to 15.5 percent and the high school graduation rate decreased from 87.0 percent to 86.3 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years.  The number of primary care physicians increased from 138.7 to 141.8 primary care physicians per 100,000 population.  Health determinants, as a group, rank lower than health outcomes, indicating that New Jersey may experience a further decline in its overall ranking in the future.  However, New Jersey has two improvements in health outcomes – the premature death rate decreased from 6,606 to 6,450 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population and the rate of cardiovascular deaths declined from 310.1 to 300.0 deaths per 100,000 population.