New Report on America’s Health Rankings of Health Disparities

The data encompasses 30 distinct measures of health for disparities across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Over the past year I’ve talked a great deal about health and mental health disparities, an ongoing priority for the industry to address. America’s Health Rankings, published by United Health Foundation, has assessed the health of the nation for well over 30 years. However, for 2021, its authors embarked on a unique journey: to provide a comprehensive and thorough view of America’s Health Rankings and Health Disparities.

This latest report was developed with guidance from a committee of national advisors involved in public health and health equity. The data encompasses 30 distinct measures of health for disparities across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, sorted by gender, geography, educational attainment, and race and ethnicity. Four publicly available sources contributed the data: the American Community Survey (ACS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Current Population Survey’s Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS), and the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS). A total of 3-5 years of data was gathered across three time periods between 2003 to 2019, and focused on the following social determinants of health (SDoH) indicators:

  • Social and economic factors;
  • Physical environment;
  • Clinical care; and
  • Health behaviors and health outcomes.

Among the key results are the following:

  1. Uninsured rate:
    1. A 37-percent decline was identified across all subpopulation groups.
    1. The rate of uninsured among American Indian/Alaska Native populations in Wyoming was 24 times higher than the rate of uninsured among white populations in Washington, D.C.
  2. Black infant mortality:
    1. Rates declined in 22 states, although Black infants continue to have the highest infant mortality rate in the U.S.: 11 out of every 1,000 births. The number is 2.8 times higher than the nearest group, Asian/Pacific Islander infants, at 4 out of 1,000.
  3. Maternal mortality worsened considerably:
    1. Black mothers experienced the highest rate of maternal mortality at 43.8 deaths per 100,000 live births; the maternal mortality rate was 3.4 times higher than that of Hispanic mothers, with 12.7 deaths per 100,000 live births.      
    1. White mothers faced a 55-percent increase.
  4. Food insecurity rates skyrocketed:
    1. It measured 39 percent for American Indians.
    1. Households headed by an adult without a high school education had six times the rate of food insecurity compared to households headed by college graduates. It’s a good thing we’ll see a new ICD-10-CM Z code for food insecurity in October.

This data speaks volumes to me, as well as program planners, population health specialists, and grant funders everywhere. Those wishing to take a deeper dive can access the report directly through the URLs in this article.

This week’s Monitor Mondays Listeners Survey asked which of the areas in the report is the largest priority for our listeners. The ongoing clinical and fiscal impact of the SDoH is evident for organizations, as evidenced through the survey results, viewable here.

Programming Note: Listen to Ellen Fink-Samnick’s live reporting on SDoH, Mondays on Monitor Mondays at 10 Eastern.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Ellen Fink-Samnick, MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCM, CRP

Ellen Fink-Samnick is an award-winning healthcare industry expert. She is the esteemed author of books, articles, white papers, and knowledge products. A subject matter expert on the Social Determinants of Health, her latest books, The Essential Guide to Interprofessional Ethics for Healthcare Case Management and Social Determinants of Health: Case Management’s Next Frontier (with foreword by Dr. Ronald Hirsch), are published through HCPro. She is a panelist on Monitor Mondays, frequent contributor to Talk Ten Tuesdays, and member of the RACmonitor Editorial Board.

Related Stories

Leave a Reply

Please log in to your account to comment on this article.

Featured Webcasts

Sepsis Sequencing in Focus: From Documentation to Defensible Coding

Sepsis sequencing continues to challenge even experienced coding and CDI professionals, with evolving guidelines, documentation gaps, and payer scrutiny driving denials and data inconsistencies. In this webcast, Payal Sinha, MBA, RHIA, CCDS, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, CCDS-O, CRC, CRCR, provides clear guideline-based strategies to accurately code sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock, assign POA indicators, clarify the relationship between infection and organ dysfunction, and align documentation across teams. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen audit defensibility, improve first-pass accuracy, support appeal success, reduce denials, and ensure accurate quality reporting, empowering organizations to achieve consistent, compliant sepsis coding outcomes.

March 26, 2026
I022426_SQUARE

Fracture Care Coding: Reduce Denials Through Accurate Coding, Sequencing, and Modifier Use

Expert presenters Kathy Pride, RHIT, CPC, CCS-P, CPMA, and Brandi Russell, RHIA, CCS, COC, CPMA, break down complex fracture care coding rules, walk through correct modifier application (-25, -57, 54, 55), and clarify sequencing for initial and subsequent encounters. Attendees will gain the practical knowledge needed to submit clean claims, ensure compliance, and stay one step ahead of payer audits in 2026.

February 24, 2026
Mastering Principal Diagnosis: Coding Precision, Medical Necessity, and Quality Impact

Mastering Principal Diagnosis: Coding Precision, Medical Necessity, and Quality Impact

Accurately determining the principal diagnosis is critical for compliant billing, appropriate reimbursement, and valid quality reporting — yet it remains one of the most subjective and error-prone areas in inpatient coding. In this expert-led session, Cheryl Ericson, RN, MS, CCDS, CDIP, demystifies the complexities of principal diagnosis assignment, bridging the gap between coding rules and clinical reality. Learn how to strengthen your organization’s coding accuracy, reduce denials, and ensure your documentation supports true medical necessity.

December 3, 2025

Proactive Denial Management: Data-Driven Strategies to Prevent Revenue Loss

Denials continue to delay reimbursement, increase administrative burden, and threaten financial stability across healthcare organizations. This essential webcast tackles the root causes—rising payer scrutiny, fragmented workflows, inconsistent documentation, and underused analytics—and offers proven, data-driven strategies to prevent and overturn denials. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen documentation and coding accuracy, engage clinicians effectively, and leverage predictive analytics and AI to identify risks before they impact revenue. Through real-world case examples and actionable guidance, this session empowers coding, CDI, and revenue cycle professionals to shift from reactive appeals to proactive denial prevention and revenue protection.

November 25, 2025

Trending News

Featured Webcasts

Mastering MDM for Accurate Professional Fee Coding

In this timely session, Stacey Shillito, CDIP, CPMA, CCS, CCS-P, CPEDC, COPC, breaks down the complexities of Medical Decision Making (MDM) documentation so providers can confidently capture the true complexity of their care. Attendees will learn practical, efficient strategies to ensure documentation aligns with current E/M guidelines, supports accurate coding, and reduces audit risk, all without adding to charting time.

March 31, 2026

The PEPPER Returns – Risk and Opportunity at Your Fingertips

Join Ronald Hirsch, MD, FACP, CHCQM for The PEPPER Returns – Risk and Opportunity at Your Fingertips, a practical webcast that demystifies the PEPPER and shows you how to turn complex claims data into actionable insights. Dr. Hirsch will explain how to interpret key measures, identify compliance risks, uncover missed revenue opportunities, and understand new updates in the PEPPER, all to help your organization stay ahead of audits and use this powerful data proactively.

March 19, 2026

Top 10 Audit Targets for 2026-2027 for Hospitals & Physicians: Protect Your Revenue

Stay ahead of the 2026-2027 audit surge with “Top 10 Audit Targets for 2026-2027 for Hospitals & Physicians: Protect Your Revenue,” a high-impact webcast led by Michael Calahan, PA, MBA. This concise session gives hospitals and physicians clear insight into the most likely federal audit targets, such as E/M services, split/shared and critical care, observation and admissions, device credits, and Two-Midnight Rule changes, and shows how to tighten documentation, coding, and internal processes to reduce denials, recoupments, and penalties. Attendees walk away with practical best practices to protect revenue, strengthen compliance, and better prepare their teams for inevitable audits.

January 29, 2026

AI in Claims Auditing: Turning Compliance Risks into Defensible Systems

As AI reshapes healthcare compliance, the risk of biased outputs and opaque decision-making grows. This webcast, led by Frank Cohen, delivers a practical Four-Pillar Governance Framework—Transparency, Accountability, Fairness, and Explainability—to help you govern AI-driven claim auditing with confidence. Learn how to identify and mitigate bias, implement robust human oversight, and document defensible AI review processes that regulators and auditors will accept. Discover concrete remedies, from rotation protocols to uncertainty scoring, and actionable steps to evaluate vendors before contracts are signed. In a regulatory landscape that moves faster than ever, gain the tools to stay compliant, defend your processes, and reduce liability while maintaining operational effectiveness.

January 13, 2026

Trending News

Get 15% OFF on all educational webcasts at ICD10monitor with code JULYFOURTH24 until July 4, 2024—start learning today!

Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →

CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 1 with code CYBER25

CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 2 with code CYBER24