Fewer Overdoses, More Chlamydia: Where Texas Excelled and Fell Short on Annual Health Ranking

While efforts to improve the health of Texans are gaining ground, the state continues to struggle with obesity, lack of health insurance coverage and poor access to care, finds an annual study released Thursday.Texas ranked 33 in overall health on the America’s Health Rankings report, which evaluates states on a suite of metrics, like smoking prevalence, infant mortality and health insurance coverage. The United Health Foundation, a non-profit established by the health benefits provider UnitedHealth, has issued the annual report since 1989.This year’s rank represents a one point improvement over last year, and is far better than the ranking of 42 the state received in 2011.On the positive, Texas performed above the national average on about 10 out of the total 34 factors evaluated. For example, there was a low rate of overdoses from opioids, or prescription pain medications.  Continue reading...