Red State Reality: Unhealthiest Residents, Worst Health Care
Throughout their all-out campaign to stop health care reform, Republican leaders have relied on questionable forecasts from the Lewin Group, a subsidiary of insurer UnitedHealth Group. Now, another study funded by UnitedHealth has some unwelcome news for the GOP braintrust: the red states they represent are the unhealthiest in the nation. Following on the heels of the Commonwealth Fund's 2009 Scorecard of state health care system performance, the United Health Foundation's report is just the latest confirmation that health care is worst where Republicans poll best.
As Forbes noted:
The annual ranking looks at 22 indicators of health, including everything from how many children receive recommended vaccinations, to obesity and smoking rates, to cancer deaths.
The diagnosis isn't pretty for Republicans committed to denying the health care their constituents need most of all. The 2009 rankings (above) reveal that nine of the top 10 healthiest states voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Conversely, 9 of the 10 cellar dwellers backed John McCain in 2008; four years earlier, the 15 unhealthiest states voted for George W. Bush for President.
With Vermont topping the list and Mississippi bringing up the rear, Americans would do to listen to Dr. Howard Dean and not Governor Haley Barbour when it comes to the health care debate.
Vermont ranked first this year thanks in part to its low rate of obesity, high number of doctors and a low rate of child poverty. New England in general sets a benchmark for the country, the report found. All six New England states are in the top 10. These states have favorable demographics and an excellent public health infrastructure, including a large number of doctors per capita.
Eight of the 10 bottom-ranked states are from the south, with Mississippi coming in dead last for the ninth consecutive year. Mississippi has a sky-high death rate from heart disease and high infant mortality. In general, residents of these states are more likely to be smokers or to be obese, the report found. They also have worse health insurance coverage, fewer physicians per capita and live in areas with high violent crime and more child poverty.
As it turns out, Mississippi residents aren't merely the sickest in the United States. They are also plagued by the worst state health care system in America.
In October, the Commonwealth Fund released its 2009 state health care scorecard. There, too, Mississippi led the Republican south in providing dismal health care. Again, while nine of the top 10 performing states voted for Barack Obama in 2008, four of the bottom five (including Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Louisiana) and 14 of the last 20 backed John McCain. (That at least is an improvement from the 2007 data, in which all 10 cellar dwellers had voted for George W. Bush three years earlier.)
In theory, their steadfast opposition to the health care legislation before the Senate should present a double quandary for the Republican leadership in Congress and in the states. After all, their residents not only need health care reform desperately. As it turns out, the funding for it would come in part from blue state taxpayers.
As the Washington Post noted in May ("A Red State Booster Shot"):
Health-care reform may be overdue in a country with 45 million uninsured and soaring medical costs, but it will also represent a substantial wealth transfer from the North and the East to the South and the West. The Northeast and the Midwest have much higher rates of coverage than the rest of the country, led by Massachusetts, where all but 3 percent of residents are insured. The disproportionate share of uninsured is in the South and the West, the result of employment patterns, weak unions and stingy state governments. Texas leads the way, with a quarter of its population uninsured; it would be at the top even without its many illegal immigrants.
As it turns out, health care reform spending would be little different from the overall pattern of red state socialism. That is, red state residents disproportionately benefit from the steady one-way flow of tax dollars and earmarks spreading the wealth from Washington to their states.
Of course, no amount of data will stop Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warning of a "government-run" plan that "that denies, delays, or rations health care." After all, with his home state's 41st and 45th place rankings in resident health and health care performance, McConnell's nightmare future is Kentucky's horror story present.
(This piece also appears at Perrspectives.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRf_JI7hAzU&fe.
I'm Boycotting NewsCorp! Heres what not to buy: http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=news...
as poverty, unemployment, poor diet.
Colorado and Utah which have large mormon populations rank high, and they generally don't drink smoke, or eat the kind of barbecued, fried, high fructose junk they do in the south.
There's a lot than can go wrong even if you eat right. Without access to a doctor, you may not catch some problems before they're too far along to fix. There's also the geographic locales and who is downwind from what.
doesn't really have a very high Mormon population. You could make that argument for Utah. However, I've read studies that say that Mormons are about five pounds heavier than people of other faiths, on average. Utah and Colorado are both outdoorsy states, which I think makes a different. Also, Utah (my home state)has a highter child/adult ratio than other states, and we know that there are many diseases that only adults suffer from. And, yes, people in Utah consume more than their fair share of HFCS and junk food. They (we) also have one of the highest over-the-counter drug abuse problems.
Mormons only get high on Jeeeezzzussss...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
In terms of religion, Colorado's largest group are Roman Catholics, at 23%; followed by "no religion" at 21%. Mormons make up 2% of Colorado's religious population.
Here's an interesting breakdown from USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/graphics/news/gra/gno...
You can spend hours poking around these stats. They were published for an article about the steady rise, in the US, of people who claim to have "no religion". Have fun!
... their secret underwear weigh about 5 pounds? That would explain it.
If you need funds to pay for essentials, you have a revenue problem
If you need funds to pay for frivolity, you have a spending problem
magic underwear which protects them!!
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
Think of all of those Palins, Joe the Plumbers, Carrie Prejeans, Becks, who will never have an opportunity to affect(infect) our beloved Nation's future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOgv-UuTgac
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Yeah, because there's no rational Liberals stuck in those red states with no financial means of moving out to join the rest of the civilized world. Jackass.
Never mind. I'm sure that you don't believe in Darwinism either.
Jethro.
I am so glad I don't live in one of these red, white, but not blue states. Can anyone breakdown the average educational levels of people in all these states. I keep wondering why Southern/Bible belt states keep voting for such poor leadership. What percentage of folks vote in these poorly served states, or do they even vote? I just don't get it. I get irate when I see my state starting to slide and vote to correct it. Are there just no alternatives in these failing states?
So, can we opt them out of our health care plan to cut down on costs? They don't want to be part of it anyway.
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
They can also opt out of receiving any taxes in the forms of education and roads and such. They don't use any of that, right? It would certainly free up money for "blue" states.
…not a right, in this country. And luxuries are taxed. It will begin with something as simple as a sugar tax.
Do you get paid per click? How much?
I had no idea yous preferred to go ogle it yourselves. I apologize for being so bold. In future, if I per chance forget where I’m posting, please feel free not to click on any of the links that I may or may not provide. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBsNxs31NYQ
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vj3E-nfvc&fe...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
the whole country is fu*ked up.
Canada seems to help for a few states.
You would think that eventually they would be able to put two plus two together , like " hey , we are the worst off , we vote Repug every time " but nope , too complicated , does not compute .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
EDUCATION!! Lack of quality education ensures that the cycle of unemployment (or low-wage employment) and poverty continues in these states. Add to that the legacy of racism and the vitriol of the religious kooks, and the citizens in these places don't stand much of a chance.
The only way to help what is basically the old South pull itself up is to raise the standards and quality of education. I'll bet if you check the rankings for literacy, these same states will rank at the bottom.
It is such a shame that we waste the vast potential of millions of Americans based on outmoded and ridiculous religious, racist and political bull crap...
>> this was meant as a reply to harmil2 up ^^ thataway
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
It seems like every list of horrors Mississippi always sucks hind teat.
Are they a state only so they can throw off the curve for the rest of us?
...50 is more than 1. Mississippi is the most. Duh!
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
If an inbred bucktoothed shitheel ridge running child molestin mule screwin unemployed hydrocephalus headed moron don't want no insurance why waste the money on them. Let em flop around in pig slop with the rest of their neighbors and they'll be happy. With enough bacon, cigarettes,bullets and moonshine what more does an idiot need. INSURANCE is for pussies, f**s and n***ers.
Think of that chart as teeth. Mississippi would have the most rotten teeth of all the states. GOOBERS! HEE HAW HEE HAW.
How dumb are liberals??! When people as stupid as the red stater's begin to go about their whining and crying routine about government run health care, we should be happy to note that the majority of those actually affected by this folly of the mind are in fact also the ones least likely to have insurance themselves.
They don't care that when people die because they lack insurance; so why should we care when they die for the same reason? I can't help but notice that when the time comes and they're the ones who get sick, they really do expect the healthcare to fall from the sky for them (sounds a little like they want government help doesn't it?)
And I'm arguing that we should get in their face about it! We should tell them how they deserve to suffer from their misfortune and figure out how to pay for their own care themselves. Then when they inevitably argue that they should be getting proper medical care regardless of their ability to pay, we should step it up and label them as that which they detest most:
Call them a Communist and tell them they're un-American.
Watch as they try pitifully to wiggle out of their conundrum, decrying their fate and begging for a doctor, while the next moment continuing to spout how people on govt assistance are nothing but welfare queens unworthy of the same help they now seek. Their true disconnect between their own reality and that of others shines bright like a beacon of light on a dark sea. They reason they've worked harder than others and so deserve better than the person in the next room. But in their hearts they still possess the belief that those others should still be denied this same care. I've seen this scenario play out with my own eyes. (disclaimer: I worked in a hospital for 6 years in the South before I moved to a better more northern state) And I have also laughed in the faces of these hyprocrites. I once told a patient (different hospital) how this was the freemarket playing itself out and that if he couldn't pay then obviously this was God's way of telling him he had no business being here on earth. He was discharged the next day with severe ulcers. I had another guy try to claw my eyes out when I called him a communist sympathizer for wanting free treatment when he couldn't afford it. This after having to listen to him complain for two days about how all poor people just wanted a free handout from the government. I had him arrested in his hospital bed for assault. Now he'll get the care he needs in state prison now lol.
The point here is (1) yes I'm sadistic, but only towards people like this, and (2) these people are far worse than I could ever hope to be. They show themselves to be hypocrites of the worst sort; Denying the urgent care to others while still demanding it for themselves. I can't respect people like that, and I never will.
You're probably asking yourself, "but Trench, making fun of them and getting them angry isn't going to change minds and move us forward."
My answer to that is I leave that for someone else to do. I have no interest in changing their state of belief.
My sole goal is to make them suffer for their selfishness. And I can say without doubt, that I'm succeeding quite admirably :)
Those who do believe in universal healthcare and thereby prove that they care about others is the people whom I save all my empathy for.
Keep up the good work. If these imbeciles haven't figured it out by now, nothing is ever going to change their minds.
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
to illustrate why conservatives are hateful bigot morons. The republicans would never win a single election if they only had a fiscal agenda, otherwise, why would people vote against their own interest?
A huge percentage of Americans without health care are working. This country is becoming a third world nation.
Jeanne
you have to be from the Midwest to understand the southern states.
they suck the federal treasury dry and complain about the federal gov.
they have voted repub since the civil rights act of 1964
give them a old truck and a gun to hang in the rear window and they are as happy as larks
they raise their children to fight in our wars for profits and call them heroes for doing so.
Beauty pageants for two year olds are the in thing.
They think America is number one in the world on everything. I.e. everything.
Yes even health care. They love palin enough said.
they give away half of their state to get a foreign manufacturing company that pays no taxes to locate there and then always complain about taxes.
if only we would have let them have their own country in 1861.
they are religious but yet racist.
they hate the Muslims as only their religion is truth. They think of Islam as a cult when In fact it is they that have made a human thee God called Jesus. I.e. cult status.
not that I am bias. :-)
Notice that every 'progressive' state in the Top 10 has a minority population of 5% or less. Vermont has a minority population of .5%!
Southern states claim a much larger proportion of minorities anywhere from 20 to 36 percent.
Welcome more minorities to your Caucasian state before you go putting down the South for its attitudes.
...not-for-profit health care: non-profit insurance companies, non-profit hospitals, all of them. That and rollerblading.
coincidence? I think not. It's an exploitation of humanity that has been around roughly 6000 years I believe? It's unfortunate for everyone. Though it's part of who we are, and like they say... "This too shall pass**" :P
**Absent a hostile take-over, jihad or crusade. :-/
Study the symptoms not the virus...
Where is Texas?
Are you sure this isn't the chart for the dumbest states?
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMyDJMAlHGI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhNrqc6yvTU
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
The GOP whores don't realize how stupid they are for being against universal health care.
The "blue-in-the-face" states have the poorest health care and the highest percentage of GOP voters. If the "Health" Insurance companies got their way, there would be an inevitable mass die-off of unhealthy people, and the GOP voter base will shrink.
Spot on Chopvac! It's like they're killing themselves and don't even know it! Idiots!
Scarborough is an idiot! Obama would wipe the floor with this mule. Cheney is a draft dodging, chicken hawk who didn't even know who Al-Qaeda was when he and Bush took office. Further, I doubt this yokel has ever even traveled to any of the regions he's sent our soldiers to die in. Scarborough should ask himself if Cheney is such a shoe in, why he didn't run for president? Cheney is a coward and his defective heart isn't just a physical debilatation. He's literally a punk ass old man from Wymoning who should see a dentist about that bottom row of monster teeth he's got! Any man who hides behind his Tonya Harding lookalike daughter is truely a punk and Scarborough is a country bumpkin who still hasn't explained the DEAD INTERN IN HIS OFFICE!
...if you put an education chart right next to the health chart, you would see pretty much the same states in the same or similar ranks.
letters to the editor of Oklahoma newspapers I've seen from residents who proudly proclaim that Oklahomans were smarter than the rest of the country b/c voters in *all* 77 counties went for McCain and rejected the evil Obama.
My smart, well-informed nephew teaches in a country high school (in fact, the one I attended) and he tells about some students who are ignorant and proud of it and prefer to stay that way.
I'm surprised that Florida is not in the top ten and that Maine is. In Florida there is nary a fat person to be seen. Maine had so many tubs there it made me feel emaciated.
... for the incline and or decline of an individuals health.
Some people are just "Big Boned"... or so they say. ;)
Your comment reflects a crude bias, though it's understandable, considering our personal environmental history. IMO
There are many things that are not good for us and bad for us, starting with... genetics. (Not to be confused with... Dianetics) ;P
Study the symptoms not the virus...
... from a political perspective.
Study the symptoms not the virus...
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