Year-End Wrap-Up : Health Care, Benefits, Insurance
State has highest rate of heart disease, index finds
By JOHN GOLDEN

The state’s largest health insurer has prepared a state health index that shows New York state ranks 27th nationally in overall health care and has one of the highest heart-disease death rates in the nation and the lowest suicide rate.

The State Health Index was published by Wellpoint Inc., parent company of Empire BlueCross BlueShield, which insures residents and businesses in 28 eastern and southeastern counties of the state. Empire officials said they will use the findings, developed from data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, to invest in health-provider and community initiatives to improve the quality of health care in New York.

The index includes 23 measurements of health care in five categories, with the state with the best level of care ranked first. New York ranked as follows.

Maternity and prenatal care:

Prenatal care in first trimester, 42; Caesarean delivery rate, 39; low birth weight infant rate, 28; newborn mortality rate, 17; total maternity and prenatal care, 34.

Preventive care:

Childhood immunization rate, 18; adult influenza immunization rate, 37; adult pneumococcal immunization rate, 42; breast cancer screening rate, 25; cervical cancer screening rate, 30; prostate cancer screening rate, 11; total preventive care, 19.

Lifestyle:

Meet recommended levels of physical activity, 30; overweight and obesity rate, 16; cigarette smoking rate, 23; sexually transmitted disease rate, 27.

Behavioral health:

Self-reported poor mental health, 42; persistent poor mental health, 24; suicide rate, 1.

Morbidity and mortality:

Diabetes in adult population, 33; five-year trend in diabetes in adult population, 35; diabetes death rate, 8; cancer death rate, 9; heart disease death rate, 43; chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder death rate, 4; total morbidity and mortality, 27.

In 2003, 266 out of 100,000 New Yorkers died of heart disease, compared to a national average of 232.3 heart-disease deaths per 100,000 population. The state’s suicide rate was 5.9 deaths per 100,000 New Yorkers, compared to a national rate of 10.8 deaths per 100,000 Americans.

Empire BlueCross BlueShield officials said they will initially focus on heart-disease incidence and seven other measures having the greatest impact on New York: prenatal care in first trimester, low birth weights; adult influenza and adult pneumococcal immunization rates, physical activity levels, cigarette smoking and adult diabetes.

Empire BlueCross BlueShield President and CEO Mark Wagar said the company will use the index as “a road map” when working with local and state officials to develop programs that will “measurably improve these results over the next five to 10 years. We believe that we will have the most impact if we combine forces with local partners to identify and address New York’s public health priorities.”

Empire officials said in addition to working with extensive networks of physicians, hospitals and other providers, they have begun reaching out to community organizations that can more effectively deliver health-improvement messages. The company’s effort includes working with local schools on health, wellness and exercise programs and with community health centers familiar with populations at greater risk and partnering with existing city and state initiatives.

The State Health Index is a companion program to Empire’s Member Health Index, an initiative launched earlier this year through which Empire uses data it collects on its own members to track the company’s progress in helping to improve the quality of health care they receive as well as health outcomes.

 

 

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