MHA Press Room

CDC: Teen birth rates declining, nearly 20% are repeat births

While teen births have declined over the past 20 years, nearly one in five teen births is a repeat birth, according to a report released April 2 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 365,000 teens, aged 15 to 19, gave birth in 2010, and about 18% of those were repeat births – a second or more pregnancy resulting in a live birth before the age of 20.

“Teen birth rates in the United States have declined to a record low, which is good news,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D. “But rates are still far too high. Repeat births can negatively impact the mother’s education and job opportunities as well as the health of the next generation. Teens, parents, health care providers, and others need to do much more to reduce unintended pregnancies.”

The report says that repeat teen births decreased by more than 6% between 2007 and 2010, and there are substantial differences based on race, ethnicity and geography.

National Trend Data on Hospital Uncompensated Care, FY1980-2011

The American Hospital Association has updated its annual trend data on hospital uncompensated care. In fiscal year 2011, hospitals provided $41.1 billion of uncompensated care, including both bad debt and charity care. This representeded 5.9% of overall hospital expenses.

Read more here.

AHA brief shows hospitals’ impact on economy

U.S. hospitals support 15.4 million direct and indirect jobs and annually contribute more than $2.3 trillion to the economy, according to a new American Hospital Association issue brief on the economic contributions of hospitals at the state and national level. In addition to being the second largest source of private sector jobs, hospitals spend more than $702 billion on goods and services from other businesses, which create additional economic value for the community.

With these “ripple effects” included, each hospital job supports about two more jobs and every dollar spent by a hospital supports roughly $2.30 of additional business activity. “Hospitals provide vital health care services to their communities, but the importance of hospitals to their communities extends far beyond health care,” said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. “Congress should not overlook the economic contribution of hospitals as it considers further deficit reduction proposals.”

To access the issue brief, go to www.aha.org/economicimpact.

CDC: Flu activity picks up nationwide

The proportion of Americans seeing their health care provider for flu-like illness has doubled over the past four weeks to 5.6%, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That compares with an overall high of 2.2% last flu season, which was relatively mild.

Twenty-nine states and New York City are reporting high levels of flu-like illness, and nine states are reporting moderate levels. “While we can’t say for certain how severe this season will be, we can say that a lot of people are getting sick with influenza and we are getting reports of severe illness and hospitalizations,” said Joe Bresee, chief of the epidemiology and prevention branch at CDC’s Influenza Division. “Anyone who has not already been vaccinated should do so now.”

CDC also recommends early antiviral treatment for people with confirmed or suspected flu who are hospitalized, severely ill or at higher risk for complications. Flu hospitalizations since October have totaled 2,257, or 8.1 per 100,000 people, which Bresee called “high for this time of year.”

Report examines trends increasing Medicare patient severity

The Medicare population is becoming older and sicker, contributing to an increase in patient acuity and use of health care services, according to an American Hospital Association TrendWatch report released on Dec. 11. The report examines the dramatic rise in chronic disease, obesity and complex conditions such as end-stage renal disease in recent years; how patients are living longer due to advances in medicine and improved use of health care services; and the higher intensity care required of this older and sicker Medicare population.

“Chronic disease is rising among Medicare patients,” the report concludes. “That’s why it’s not surprising that the new patient classification system (MS-DRGs) – designed to account for complications and comorbidities and their associated resource use – shows a rise in patient case mix over time relative to the old system. Policy makers should carefully consider the trends of increasing acuity in the Medicare patient population as they seek changes to payment policy.”

Launch of Sortable Stats 2.0 - Your Interactive Database for Behavioral Risk Factors and Health Indicators

Would you appreciate having data on death rates, risk factors, and other public health indicators for a state/region at the click of your mouse? The updated Sortable Stats 2.0 site provides users with easy access to extensive public health data on a state/region and enables comparison with other states/regions and the nation. Sortable Stats is an interactive database with data on 31 behavioral risk factors and health indicators.

Access the database here.

CDC: No change in adult smoking rate

The prevalence of adults who smoke remained virtually unchanged in 2011, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey, CDC's Office on Smoking and Health estimated national cigarette smoking prevalence among adults to be 19.0%, only slightly lower than 2010’s estimated prevalence of 19.3%. For more, see the CDC release.

CDC: Heart failure hospitalizations rise 21% for men under 65

The hospitalization rate for congestive heart failure was unchanged overall between 2000 and 2010, but increased 21% for men under age 65 and declined significantly for older women, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Males' higher health risk factors and lower utilization of health care services, including preventive care, could mean that conditions known to cause CHF – such as diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease – were more often left undiagnosed and untreated for males compared with females,” the authors said.

About one million Americans were hospitalized for congestive heart failure in 2010, about the same as in 2000.

Census: Americans report fewer medical care visits

Working-age Americans made an average of 3.9 visits to doctors, nurses or other medical providers in 2010, down from 4.8 in 2001, according to a report released Oct. 1 by the U.S. Census Bureau. More than 29% of uninsured adults visited a medical provider or dentist in 2010, including emergency departments (13%) and other hospital facilities (10%).

The estimates are from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

CDC: Fewer adults have high blood pressure, cholesterol

The proportion of U.S. adults with uncontrolled high blood pressure or cholesterol declined between 1999 and 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Aug. 2. Both conditions are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, as is smoking.

In 2010, about 23% of adults had high cholesterol while 12% had high blood pressure, CDC said. That’s down roughly 8 and 9 percentage points, respectively, from 1999.

An estimated one in four adults smoked cigarettes in 2010, about the same as in 1999. About 58% of African-American adults had at least one of the three risk factors in 2010, compared with 47% of white and 45% of Mexican-American adults. The findings are based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.