Health Indicators

According to the U.S. government’s National Health Care Expenditure fact sheet, in 2022, the U.S spent $4.5 trillion on health care services, which was $13,493 per person – a growth of 4.1% over the previous year.  Health care services accounted for 17.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of 38 high-income member countries, the proportion of GDP spent by the U.S. on health care is nearly twice that of the average for OECD countries. However, when compared to a group of 12 other high-income countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), the U.S. had the lowest life expectancy, the highest death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, and the highest maternal and infant mortality among these countries.

The data presented in this portion of State of the Valley is drawn from state, national, and non-profit organizations and the most recent data available is not always the same.  Indeed, for one indicator, infant mortality, the most recent data available for the states (Minnesota and Wisconsin) are not the same as for the St. Croix River Valley counties.

Counties in the St. Croix River Valley, with a couple of exceptions, tend to have somewhat better health care indicators than their respective states.  These counties tend to have lower rates of infant mortality, a relatively high proportion of adults have health insurance, and very low percentages of those over 65 years of age reported difficulty providing self-care.  All counties in the region observed lower obesity rates compared to their respective states. Polk and Burnett Counties, however, have slightly worse health indicators than the Wisconsin state average.  It is also the case that at least one-quarter of the adult population in these counties is obese, adults have an average of about half a week per month of mentally unhealthy days, and at least 10% of adults rated their physical health as fair or poor.

1. https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NHE-Fact-Sheet

2 https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2023/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2022