Women’s health in the U.S. continues to fall way below desired standards, according to a study from the National Women’s Law Center.
The 2010 edition of “Making the Grade on Women’s Health: A National State-by-State Report Card” found that the nation as a whole received a grade of “Unsatisfactory” for women’s health, and not one state received an overall grade of satisfactory, the highest possible.
Only Vermont and Massachusetts received an “S-“, the next highest grade. Twelve states flat-out failed, with Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi making up the bottom three.
The study found that of the 68 policies analyzed for the report card, only two policies – participation in the Food Stamp Nutrition and Education Program and Medicaid coverage for breast and cervical cancer – were met by all 50 states.
While death rates from coronary disease and stroke improved in most areas, the rates of death are still so high that the country as a whole received a failing grade in those areas.
The Center[s] for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that the average life expectancy in the U.S. has dropped after slowly inching up for years, demonstrating why it is important to secure health insurance coverage in order to prevent health issues down the road. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for both men and women, although death as a result of a stroke has lowered slightly.
