America's healthiest and least healthy states

By Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical Correspondent
Updated 3:02 PM ET, Tue December 12, 2017

Despite years of efforts to even out health disparities across the United States, some states are dramatically healthier than others, according to a new report.
Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, Utah and Connecticut rank as the five healthiest states, while West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi rank the least healthy in America's Health Rankings, according to the report by the United Health Foundation.

•••••

Mississippi and Louisiana, ranked 49th and 50th, have major health challenges, according to the report, including a high prevalence of smoking, obesity and children in poverty.

•••••

This latest report shows that the nation's health overall is getting worse.

The nation's premature death rate -- the number of years of potential life lost before age 75 -- increased 3% since 2015.
That increase is driven in part by drug deaths, which increased 7% during that time, and cardiovascular deaths, which went up 2%.

That leaves the United States ranking 27th in terms of life expectancy in a comparison of 35 countries, according to the report.

•••••

"We're spending more on health care and we die sooner," he said. "We need to do a time out and figure out how to do this better."

•••••