Celebrating 35 years of America's Health Rankings: A comprehensive look at the nation's health and well-being

In partnership with the American Public Health Association (APHA), the United Health Foundation has released its America’s Health Rankings^® 2024 Annual Report.

This year marks 35 years of America’s Health Rankings®. First published in 1990, the America’s Health Rankings Annual Report provides the longest-running state-by-state analysis of the nation’s health.

Over the last 35 years, the model and measures used in the report have evolved as public health’s understanding of what drives health has advanced. In addition to looking at recent changes in today’s health, the Annual Report identifies key successes and challenges experienced by populations across the country over the past three decades, highlighting public health issues that have significantly impacted our communities.

The report presents a mixed portrait on the health of the country, underscoring the complex nature of health and the need for holistic approaches to build comprehensive well-being.

Among the 2024 Annual Report key findings:

The nation has made several significant improvements in public health: Smoking among adults has declined by 59% since the first edition of the Annual Report in 1990, the uninsured population decreased by 49% since 2010, and socioeconomic and environmental factors such as workplace safety and air pollution have measurably improved.

The country also faces growing health challenges in mortality, chronic disease and mental health. For example, frequent mental distress among adults increased 32% between 2011 and 2023, drug deaths increased by 170% between 2007 and 2022, and diabetes and obesity have become increasingly prevalent across the U.S.

Spotlight on solutions

UnitedHealth Group and the United Health Foundation have a wide range of programs and partnerships that aim to improve health for members and communities in response to the challenges identified by the America’s Health Rankings 2024 Annual Report. Some examples include:

Helping individuals manage chronic conditions  

• In 2023, the United Health Foundation and Hispanic Federation launched a three-year, $3 million grant partnership to combat diabetes in Texas and Georgia. The program provides culturally relevant resources to encourage adoption and maintenance of physical activity and other healthy habits. Additionally, this partnership connects individuals to primary and mental health care and social drivers of health, including access to healthy food. To date, over 1,300 individuals have enrolled in the program; among program participants, 25% have experienced an increase in physical activity and 9% of program participants to date are no longer considered pre-diabetic.
• In 2021, the United Health Foundation launched a three-year grant partnership with Health Alliance for the Uninsured (HAU) to improve health outcomes for uninsured and underinsured individuals with diabetes at free and charitable clinics across Oklahoma. In addition to providing targeted interventions for patients with diabetes, the program has enabled clinics – for the first time – to integrate screening and assessment tools to identify and ultimately address behavioral health, substance use disorder (SUD) and social drivers of health needs among their patients. As a result of the partnership, more than 3,000 patients with diabetes have received support and a 21% improvement in diabetic patients with controlled blood pressure.  

Addressing mental and behavioral health

• The United Health Foundation is partnering with Native American Connections (NAC) to help increase access to behavioral and primary health care for Native Americans and underserved individuals and families throughout the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area. Through the three-year grant partnership, NAC is establishing its Mobile Health Initiative to bring together primary care services (such as wellness visits and immunizations) with universal screenings for depression and substance use. Ultimately, NAC aims to provide these integrated health care services directly to the thousands of people residing in NACs’ 24 housing properties serving low-income individuals and families. Learn more about the partnership.
• In 2022, the United Health Foundation began a three-year grant partnership with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council to integrate behavioral health services into medical respite programs in Florida, Minnesota and North Carolina. Medical respite care is short-term residential care that provides a safe environment to people experiencing homelessness who are too ill or frail to recover on the street or shelter, but no longer require care at the hospital. As a result of the partnership, more than 500 clients have been served in programs in Florida, Minnesota and North Carolina; more than 70% of medical respite clients have been admitted with a behavioral health diagnosis and more than 30% have been connected with mental health services.
• UnitedHealth Group is advancing the integration of physical and behavioral health care by expanding the Optum Behavioral Health network of providers and integrating new tools and services into primary care clinics and home-based settings. The national provider network includes nearly 500,000 behavioral health professionals serving over 45 million people across 4,200 facilities at 9,800 locations, along with more than 213,000 virtual visit providers.
• UnitedHealthcare offers virtual coaching programs to help expand access to care and to help address cost barriers for people experiencing mild depression, stress and anxiety. Our coaching solutions constantly monitor if the member needs more support, and we can facilitate quickly getting them to higher level of care. Administered by Optum, these programs are available at no additional cost to millions of eligible UnitedHealthcare commercial members through digital modules and one-on-one video or telephonic conferencing and messaging with coaches. Learn more about key features of the program.

Addressing social drivers of health

• UnitedHealthcare, in collaboration with our partners, leverages a proprietary, industry-leading approach to identify and address health-related social needs, such as food security, housing stability and access to health care. We use health and social data with input from members, physicians and community partners and apply predictive analytics to identify health disparities and connect members to community resources to close gaps in need. This year, we deployed capabilities on our member portal, allowing members to self-identify needs and locate community-based assistance. By end of year, we are on track to screen more than 7.5 million UnitedHealthcare members for health-related social needs and have closed gaps for 70% of individuals we’ve referred to services.