News Articles

In Focus: Smoking in Maine Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Each year, more than 480,000 people die from cigarette smoking, including nearly 41,000 deaths from secondhand smoke exposure.1 Approximately 16 million cases of major medical conditions among adults are attributed to smoking – which amounts to nearly 30

With health care expenditures expected to exceed $3.5 trillion in 2017 and grow by an average of 5.6 percent each year through 2025, health care affordability is a growing concern for individuals and families. America’s Health Rankings and the Alliance for Aging Research explore the issues of financial preparedness for health care costs in retirement in the new brief: Preparing for Health Care Costs in Retirement.

MINNETONKA, Minn. (May 10, 2017) – America’s seniors are seeing improvements in clinical care but are facing significant economic barriers to better health, according to the key findings from United Health Foundation’s fifth annual America’s Health Rankings Senior Report. Accompanying the report is new survey data, released in partnership with the Alliance for Aging Research, highlighting risks of health savings shortfalls among current and future seniors and uncertainty about future health care savings needs.

MINNETONKA, Minn. (Dec. 15, 2016) – The nation’s health is seeing concerning upticks in key health indicators that threaten to offset years of public health successes, according to the key findings in United Health Foundation’s 27th America’s Health Rankings Annual Report®.

MINNETONKA, Minn. (Nov. 10, 2016) – The majority of people who have served in the U.S. military report being in very good or excellent health despite facing notable health challenges, including higher rates of cancer and coronary heart disease, than those who have not served (also referred to as civilians).

Today, the United Health Foundation, in partnership with the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), released the 2016 Health of Those Who Have Served Report that establishes a national baseline and a holistic portrait of the health of those who have served.

Notable differences in the health of women and children exist across – and often even within – states according to some of the key findings of United Health Foundation’s 2016 America’s Health Rankings Health of Women and Children Report. The new report includes an in-depth look at more than 60 measures of health and well-being, selected by a steering group of women’s and children’s health experts.

Middle-aged Americans face significant health challenges, but on-the-ground programs offer key insights into how to curb the impact of chronic disease.

Adults who engage in three or more unhealthy behaviors are 6.1 times more likely to have fair or poor health than those who have no unhealthy behaviors, says a new report from United Health Foundation. America’s Health Rankings® Spotlight: Impact of Unhealthy Behaviors offers new insights into the prevalence and distribution of unhealthy behaviors and their effect on public health and the cost of medical care.