Louisiana Grabs Last Place

[1999 Rankings] [Factors] [States Ranked By All 21 Factors] [MQ Home]

[Healthiest State Rankings 1993 to 1999] [Methodology] [Corporate Information Sheet]

LAWRENCE, KS. After years of second place finishes, Minnesota finally tops the nation in health. Morgan Quitno Press, a Lawrence, Kansas-based independent research and publishing company, today named Minnesota winner of its 1999 Healthiest State Award. Coming in as the least healthy state is Louisiana, bumping off Arkansas which had held the #50 spot for five years in a row.

"Each year we take a step back from our objective reporting of state health statistics and determine which is the nation’s healthiest state," said Scott Morgan, president of Morgan Quitno Press. "In 1997 and 1998, Minnesota placed second in our Healthiest State competition. However this year, it beats out its fellow states and rises to #1."

The Healthiest State Award is based on 21 health-related factors taken from Health Care State Rankings 1999, a recently-updated annual reference book that compares the 50 United States in 512 health care categories. Factors considered include infant mortality rates, the percent of population not covered by health insurance, per capita expenditures for health care, childhood immunization rates, and percent of adults who smoke.

"Our award reflects which states have the most affordable health care, the best access to health care providers and a generally healthy population," Morgan continued. "Minnesota scores well in a number of areas such as infant mortality rate, health insurance coverage, and access to primary care physicians. On the flip side, Louisiana ranks poorly in several categories, including the percent of births to teenage mothers and sexually transmitted disease rate."

Following first place Minnesota were Hawaii in second place, Vermont in third, New Hampshire in fourth and Nebraska in fifth. At the opposite end of the scale were Louisiana in last place, Mississippi in 49th, Alabama in 48th, Nevada in 47th and South Carolina in 46th place.

"While it is always interesting to discover which states fare best from year to year, we hope that our Healthiest State Award provokes a meaningful discussion of health care issues among state leaders," Morgan said, "We simply provide the facts and 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, the Most Livable State and the Most Dangerous State.

Supplementary information about the 1999 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 21 categories considered for the award. The telephone number for Morgan Quitno Press is (785) 841-3534.

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