Scorecard On State Health System Performance

Well before the appearance of COVID-19 in the U.S., there were worrying signs on the horizon for health care in this nation. The Commonwealth Fund’s latest Scorecard on State Health System Performance identifies a range of problems that likely were made worse by the pandemic. In assessing health care in every state and the District of Columbia on 49 measures, this new report finds that:

Americans are living shorter lives than they did in 2014, and Black Americans are nearly twice as likely as whites to die from treatable conditions.
Health coverage gains have stalled, while affordability of insurance and out-of-pocket costs have worsened.
Public health dollars are being stretched thin at a time when states face unprecedented challenges from COVID-19.

The scorecard has information about these trends, enabling readers to make comparisons among states, and it can be obtained here.

Racial Disparities In Cancer

The American Association for Cancer Research has released its first report on racial disparities in cancer. Even though the disparity in cancer deaths between Black and white individuals has been reduced from 33% in 1990 to 14% in 2016, the report states that Black Americans have had the highest death toll from cancer among all racial groups in the U.S. for the past 40 years. At the same time, individuals from non-white backgrounds have at least twice the rate of death from stomach cancer than white patients with the disease. The inequities exist beyond racial lines. Other marginalized groups, including bisexual women and those with low incomes, tend to have higher cancer rates. The report also outlines how disparities in underlying risk factors, such as HIV and hepatitis infections, contribute to inequities in cancer rates, as do lower rates of cancer screening and insurance in vulnerable portions of the population. The report can be obtained here.

The State of Obesity 2020: Better Policies For A Healthier America

According to a report from Trust for America's Health (TFAH), the U.S. adult obesity rate stands at 42.4%, the first time the national rate has passed the 40% mark, and further evidence of the country’s obesity crisis. The national adult obesity rate has increased by 26% since 2008. Based in part on newly released 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BFRSS) and analysis by TFAH, this report provides an annual snapshot of rates of overweight and obesity nationwide including by age, gender, race and state of residence. Obesity rates vary considerably between states and regions of the country. Mississippi has the highest adult obesity rate in the country at 40.8% and Colorado has the lowest at 23.8%. Twelve states having adult rates above 35% percent are: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. As recently as 2012, no state had an adult obesity rate above 35%; in 2000 no state had an adult obesity rate above 25%. Rates of childhood obesity are also increasing with the latest data showing that 19.3% of U.S. youth ages 2 to 19 have obesity. In the mid-1970s, 5.5% of youth had obesity. Being overweight or having obesity at a young age places these individuals at higher risk for having obesity and its related health risks as an adult. Furthermore, children are exhibiting earlier onset of what used to be considered adult conditions, including hypertension and high cholesterol. The report can be obtained here.

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