State-by-state analysis warns of looming health care crisis

May 30 2013

The report examines the rising number of seniors and growing rates of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

USA Today: Senior Health Care Crisis Looms; Report Ranks States
An aging nation that's living longer but with growing rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases points to an emerging health care crisis, says a report out Tuesday that analyzes seniors' health status state-by-state. ... The report focuses on 34 measures of senior health, including physical inactivity, obesity, self-reported health status, poverty, drug coverage, hospital re-admission rates and flu vaccinations. The data analyzed is from more than a dozen government agencies and private research groups (Healy, 5/29).

USA Today: Long-Term Care: Investigate Your Options Early
Americans now put health problems it at the top of their retirement worries, says a recent Bank of America's Merrill Lynch Retirement Study. And yet it's not a subject that people spend much time thinking about. ... Although long-term care insurance could help protect their retirement nest eggs, it is typically more expensive than the middle class can afford. And they will not be qualified for Medicaid unless they impoverish themselves. And even if they qualify for Medicaid, they can't always count on it (Dugas, 5/28).

Kaiser Health News: Minnesota Ranked Best State For Seniors
Hoping to jump-start a discussion about the well-being of America's rapidly-growing aging population, the United Health Foundation on Wednesday published the first comprehensive state-by-state analysis of senior health across the nation. Minnesota won the top spot on the list of healthiest states for seniors to live, followed by Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Iowa.  Bringing up the rear, Mississippi was found to be the unhealthiest state for older adults, with Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia and Arkansas following, in that order (Graham, 5/29).

McClatchy: Minnesota A Health Haven For Seniors Report Says; Mississippi Not So Much
Minnesota tops the nation as the healthiest state for seniors, while Mississippi is the unhealthiest and faces an uphill battle to improve its low ranking, according to a report Wednesday by the United Health Foundation, a non-profit arm of insurer UnitedHealth Group. The inaugural "America's Health Rankings Senior Report: A Call to Action," uses 34 measurements of health data to grade each state's performance in providing a healthy environment for men and women ages 65 and over -- one of the nation's fastest-growing age groups (Pugh, 5/29).  

In other news, The Hill looks at the merger of two nursing home groups --

The Hill: Key Nursing Home Groups To Merge
Two leading advocacy groups for nursing facilities are combining their operations under a single banner.  The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (AQNHC) will merge under the AHCA name by July 1 (Viebeck, 5/29).