Health statistics help shape local policies

WASHINGTON — Better access to health care data helps local governments improve preventive health policies aimed at reducing overall medical costs, say researchers who released the third annual national County Health Rankings today.

In general, the study shows that excessive drinking rates are highest in the Northern states, while Southern states have the highest rates of teen births, sexually transmitted infections and children in poverty.

Though there has been little change in the overall statistics nationwide, officials use the findings to try to improve local health.

In Hernando, Miss., for example, Mayor Chip Johnson said the city saved so much on health care costs after one health fair that everyone got a 2% raise.

“It is going to take communities a while to improve their health,” said Bridget Catlin, director of county health at County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. Businesses and non-profits use the rankings to talk to politicians about what they can do to help. They are available at www.countyhealthrankings.org.

“Businesses are concerned about costs,” Catlin said. “And they’re starting to do more in the workplace. But if you go home and there’s no access to fresh food or a safe place to walk every day, then the lifestyle does not change.”

The rankings come from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The rankings use death rates, air pollution rates, income levels, health access, physical inactivity rates and access to healthy foods.

In Hernando, Miss., Johnson, a Republican, said the government requires all new developments to include sidewalks to make it easier for residents to walk and exercise.

He set up a health fair for city employees and watched premiums decrease by 15%. Johnson used that to give his employees a 2% raise. “If we prevent two heart attacks, that lowers our premiums,” he said. “The first thing is always knowledge.”