Minnesota Tops List in Health Rankings

Is there a lesson here? Sure looks like it. Minnesota might be a model for America.

An annual report released Tuesday put Minnesota at the top of its health rankings for the fourth straight year, while concluding that the nation's health improved slightly.

The report by United Health Foundation, an independent, not-for-profit foundation funded by the health care company UnitedHealth Group, said Americans are 0.3 percent healthier than they were a year ago.

The report is based on factors such as personal behaviors, the environment people live and work in, decisions by public and elected officials, and the quality of medical care delivered by health professionals.

Examples include smoking, motor vehicle deaths, high school graduation rates, children in poverty, access to care and incidence of preventable disease.

Dr. Reed Tuckson, senior vice president of the United Health Foundation, called the report a "call to action for all of us" to make the nation healthier.

"We can do better and our children deserve better," he said.

Minnesota, which has held the top spot in 11 of the 17 years of the survey, was cited for, among other things, its low rate of uninsured (8.4 percent), low percentage of children in poverty (10 percent), and low infant mortality rate (5.1 deaths per 1,000 live births).

Uninsured at 8.4%. Fantastic.

(read more)