Vermont as the Healthiest State

Mississippi Drops to Last Place

LAWRENCE, KS. Vermont once again has earned the title of the nation’s Healthiest State. The 14th annual award was announced in Health Care State Rankings 2006, a reference book of state health statistics published this week by Morgan Quitno Press of Lawrence, Kansas. This marks the fifth time in six years that the Green Mountain State has won the award. At the opposite end of the rankings scale, Mississippi reclaimed last place status, a position it also has held for five of the past six years.

“Vermont outperforms its fellow states in many of the categories considered for our award,” said Scott Morgan, President of Morgan Quitno Press. “It has a low teen birth rate, a high percentage of citizens with health insurance coverage and a high percent of children who are fully immunized. Good health care is a high priority in the state of Vermont.”

The 14th annual Healthiest State Award is based on 21 health-related factors from Health Care State Rankings 2006, an annual reference book that compares the 50 United States in more than 500 health care categories. Factors considered include infant mortality rates, the percent of population not covered by health insurance, per capita expenditures for health care, percent of population lacking access to primary medical care, childhood immunization rates, and percent of adults who smoke.

"Our award reflects which states’ citizens have the best access to health care providers, affordable health care services and a generally healthy population," Morgan said.

Following Vermont were New Hampshire in second place, Minnesota in third, Maine in fourth and Iowa in fifth. Bringing up the end of the rankings scale were Mississippi in last place, New Mexico in 49th, Louisiana in 48th, Nevada in 47th and Texas in 46th place.

The Healthiest State Award is one of six designations announced annually by Morgan Quitno Press in conjunction with the publication of its annual reference books. These other annual awards name the nation’s Safest City and Metro Area (based on data from City Crime Rankings), the Most Livable State (based on data from State Rankings), the Safest and Most Dangerous States (based on data from Crime State Rankings), the Smartest State (based on data from Education State Rankings), and the Most Improved State (based on data from State Trends.)

Additional information about the 2005 Healthiest State Award, including rankings for all 50 states, a list of factors used to determine the results and an explanation of methodology, is available directly from Morgan Quitno Press at www.statestats.com or by calling (785) 841-3534.

#####