The 2002 health rankings are in. And Utahns are some of
the healthiest people in the country.
But not all the news is good news. The state also got low
marks in some surprising areas.
United Health Care says the report is supposed to be a call
to action and stimulate communities to provide better quality
health care.
But the state says it is already aware of the areas where
Utahns need help.
For the most part, you could say Utahns are a healthy bunch.
"We're really pleased Utah is always in the top five as the
healthiest state in the nation, and we're pleased because
people are living healthy lifestyles out here," says
Steve McDonald with the Utah Department of Health.
And, McDonald says, that shows in United Health Care's 2002
ranking.
Utah has the lowest smoking rate in the country -- 13.2 percent
of the population. The lowest risk for heart disease at 19
percent below the national average; the lowest number of cancer
deaths. And Utah is in the top 10 states for low violent crime.
Also good news: the infant mortality rate is down, but strangely,
the study finds that we have inadequate prenatal care -- ranking
49th -- and a high number of uninsured -- 14.8 percent.
"A lot of women don't feel it's important. They've had a
baby before and they can skip a visit," McDonald says.
The state says those numbers would be lower if United Health
used Utah's numbers.
"Their statistics show we have a 15 percent uninsurance rate,
but we used a more sophisticated method of finding out how
many people are uninsured. We feel it's closer to 9 percent
here in Utah," McDonald says.
Still the numbers point to areas that need attention.
"We know we have some work to do with adequacy of prenatal
care, and we've been studying that and working on that constantly.
We know that we're very good with low prevalence of smoking
and heart disease so it just confirms what we already know,"
he says.
Tomorrow the Utah Department of Health will be accepting applications
for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
