Alcohol- and drug-related deaths and suicides continue to climb in the US, according to a new report released Wednesday by The Commonwealth Fund, an organization that supports independent health care research.
The Fund’s 2019 Scorecard on State Health shows that drug overdose deaths more than doubled since 2005, and suicide rates between 2016 and 2017 skyrocketed, marking the highest jump during a one-year period in recorded recent history.
“Steady increases in suicides and deaths linked to alcohol are also concerning and represent yet another marker of complex socioeconomic and behavioral health problems across the nation,” the report reads.
New York ranked 14th in the study, which examined data from the 50 states and DC on death rates, obesity, access to health care, medical costs, dental health, smoking rates and more. The top-ranked states were Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Washington, Connecticut and Vermont (the latter two tied for fifth place), while the bottom of the list was rounded out with Arkansas, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi.
Unsurprisingly, the bottom-ranking states had the highest numbers of residents without health care coverage, but the “deaths of despair” rates varied from state to state, with some states being hit harder than others.
For example, in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio, drug overdoses resulting in death were about five times higher than alcohol-related deaths and three times higher than suicides. But in the Dakotas, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon and Wyoming, high mortality rates came more from suicide and alcohol than drugs.
New York’s top rankings included a low rate of suicide deaths, a low number of adults who are obese and lower-than-average out-of-pocket medical spending. The Empire State also improved its rankings in a slew of categories including: hospital 30-day re-admission rate for ages 18-64; diabetic adults without an annual hemoglobin A1c test; and home health patients without improved mobility.
Still, there are a number of areas where New York could improve: The state scored low on hospital 30-day re-admission rates for patients ages 65 and older; employer-sponsored insurance spending per the enrolled is high; and hospitals in the state have lower-than-average patient reviews.
The data in the report is from 2017. You can read the full report here.
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