Connect with us

News

Southern Region Lags in Health

By Andy Miller

Southerners have high rates of chronic disease such as diabetes and are more likely to be uninsured than people in other regions, a newly released report says.

And nearly one-quarter of Southerners report they do not have a usual source of health care. That’s significantly higher than for adults in the Midwest and Northeast, though it’s similar to the rate for residents in the West.

The Kaiser Foundation “issue brief” was prepared for a March meeting of health care stakeholders from the South and around the nation, held at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. It was released publicly last week. The report defines the South as a fairly broad region, and includes Oklahoma, Delaware, West Virginia and Maryland as among the 16 states plus the District of Columbia.

The South has a rapidly growing population and is more racially and ethnically diverse than other regions, the report notes. People of color make up 41 percent of the total Southern population.

The South also includes states with high poverty rates. Georgia, at 24 percent, is among the states higher than the national average of 21 percent.

The majority of the uninsured in the South live in Texas, Florida and Georgia, according to the report. The uninsured in these three states, in fact, account for 44 percent of the uninsured nationwide. Yet as of 2012, the three have the lowest number of federally qualified health centers per 1 million low-income residents. (Texas, Florida and Georgia are among the nation’s most populous states, ranking No. 2, No. 4 and No. 8, respectively, according to current estimates.)

People of color make up the majority of uninsured in the South, while 42 percent are white.

Meanwhile, the South contains states with the highest rates of diabetes, heart disease deaths, infant mortality and cancer deaths. “More than anything, [the report] reconfirmed to me the unique challenges in the South,’’ said Dr. Harry Heiman, director of health policy at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute. Heiman cited the health disparities and burden of chronic diseases in the region, such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.

The Kaiser report also notes that most Southern states are not expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

More at Georgia Health News

Newsletter Signup

Join our email list to stay connected.

Written By

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Pingback: วิเคราะห์บอลวันนี้

  2. Pingback: รับสร้างบ้านหาดใหญ่

  3. Pingback: read

  4. Pingback: italian driver license

  5. Pingback: บอลยูโร 2024

  6. Pingback: Buy passport online

  7. Pingback: naza24

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Advertisement
Advertisement

Advertisement

Newsletter Signup

Join our email list to stay connected.

©2019 Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine

Connect
Newsletter Signup

Join our email list to stay connected.

Verified by MonsterInsights