A recent report gives the nation an "unsatisfactory" grade when it comes to women's healthcare. Most states fail to meet 34 health benchmarks—such as lowering blood pressure, increasing prenatal screening, reducing lung cancer deaths—set by the federal government. The states are ranked by how close they come to the goals, and Minnesota is the best, followed by Massachusetts and Vermont. The rest get grades of "unsatisfactory" or "fail," and Mississippi is at the bottom of the heap, according to the report, by the National Women's Law Center and Oregon Health Sciences University.
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What's truly unsettling is that, in many cases, there's not much difference between the top states and the ones at the bottom. That means the outlook for women's health is "grim," says study coauthor Michelle Berlin, a gynecologist and public health expert at Oregon. Here are a few examples:
–Blood pressure. The federal plan, Healthy People 2010, calls for no more than 16 percent of women to have high blood pressure. In Mississippi, 33.6 percent do. Minnesota does better, at 22 percent, but still falls short of the target.
–Smoking. No more than 12 percent of the female population should smoke. Mississippi has a lot more women puffing at 22.1 percent, but Minnesota isn't far behind at 19.3 percent.
–Lung cancer. With a goal of no more than 16.6 deaths per 100,000 women, Mississippi has far too many, at 42.8 deaths. And Minnesota has 36.3 percent.
–Pap smears. The goal is for 90 percent of adult women to be tested every 3 years. Mississippi falls short, at 83.9 percent, and Minnesota comes very close, at 89.6 percent.
–Obesity. No more than 15 percent of the adult female population should be obese, as defined medically by their body-mass index. Mississippi weighs in at 28 percent, and Minnesota has 20.8 percent.
–Cholesterol screening. Here Minnesota does better. The goal is for 80 percent of women to have received a cholesterol test within the last 5 years. In Minnesota 81.2 did, surpassing the benchmark. In Mississippi it was 71.9.
–Couch potatoes. Again, Minnesota exceeds the goal, which is to limit the women who get no leisure-time physical activity to 20 percent. Minnesota has only 17.3 percent spending their free time on the couch. In Mississippi it's 36.7 percent.
What's the problem? "States aren't implementing the policies that would make a difference," says NWLC's vice-president for health, Judy Waxman. "For example, in states that require insurance companies to pay for screenings like mammograms, women get the test. Where it's not required, they don't." To wit: In Minnesota, which has a strong policy on this, about 80 percent of women are tested, compared with 68 percent in Mississippi, which has a weak policy, according to the report; the goal is 100 percent testing.
