Hawaii is #1 in Health

LAWRENCE, KS. It’s true — paradise is good for your health. Morgan Quitno Press, an independent research and publishing company, today named Hawaii winner of its 1998 Healthiest State Award. This marks the second consecutive year that Hawaii has earned the Healthiest State honors. Also making a repeat performance in the 1998 rankings is Arkansas which has held firmly on to last place for five of the six years that Morgan Quitno has issued the award.

"Hawaii scores well in a number of factors we considered for the award such as health insurance coverage, access to primary care physicians and the incidence of new cancer cases," said Scott Morgan, president of Morgan Quitno Press. "On the flip side, Arkansas ranks poorly in several categories, including the percent of births to teenage mothers, percent of mothers receiving prenatal care and increases in uninsured citizens."

The sixth annual award is based on 23 health-related factors taken from Health Care State Rankings 1998, a 552-page annual reference book that compares the 50 United States in 511 health care categories. Factors considered for the award include a state’s infant mortality rate, percent of population not covered by health insurance, per capita expenditures for health care, childhood immunization rate, percent of adults who smoke and community hospitals per 1,000 square miles.

"We use this award to reflect the affordability of health care in a state, access to health care providers and a generally healthy population," Morgan continued.

Following first place Hawaii were Minnesota in second place, New Hampshire in third, Vermont in fourth and Utah in fifth. At the opposite end of the scale were Arkansas in last place, Louisiana in 49th, Missouri in 48th, Tennessee in 47th and Alabama in 46th place. Kansas enjoyed the biggest lift, jumping 20 spots, from 26th to 6th. New York fell the furthest, from 18th to 28th.

"No state likes to be told it has problems with its health care system," said Morgan. "Yet if this annual award provokes a meaningful discussion of health care among state leaders, then we have been successful. All we do is provide the facts. The states take it from there."

The Healthiest State Award is one of four designations announced annually by Morgan Quitno in conjunction with publication of its annual reference book. The company's other annual announcements designate the nation’s Safest City and Metro Area (awarded in conjunction with MONEY Magazine), the Most Livable State and the Most Dangerous State.

Supplementary information about the 1998 Healthiest State Award, including a list of factors and an explanation of methodology, is available directly from Morgan Quitno Press. Also available is a table showing how each of the 50 states ranks in each of the 23 categories considered for the award. The telephone number for Morgan Quitno Press is (785) 841-3534.