By DR. DINELLI MONSON
UnitedHealthcare of California
California moved up two slots from 26 to 24 in this year’s America’s Health Ranking Report produced by the United Health Foundation. America’s Health Rankings is the longest running state-by-state analysis of our nation’s health. The report provides actionable, data-driven insights to inform public policy, research, and news reporting. For 36 years, the America’s Health Rankings model has evolved alongside the changing public health landscape, adapting in ways that help better guide action to improve health outcomes.
Nationally, the America’s Health Rankings 2025 Annual Report shows recent progress, including improvements in premature and drug death rates as well as breast and colorectal cancer screenings. However, the percentage of adults living with multiple chronic conditions increased, and the data show challenges in social and economic factors that shape health.
This year’s national report highlights several notable improvements:
Premature death rates fell 8 percent between 2022 and 2023, marking a significant reversal after pandemic-related increases.
Drug-related deaths decreased 3 percent, the first improvement since 2018.
Cancer screenings rose 15 percent.
Physical inactivity has reached its healthiest level since tracking began.
Volunteerism also surged 22 percent, reflecting increased community engagement, but still lower than pre-pandemic levels, but approaching 2019 (30 percent).
Key findings for California show that cancer screenings have gone up 24 percent, homicides have gone down 16 percent and drug deaths have decreased 6 percent. This year’s strengths include:
A low prevalence of multiple chronic conditions;
A low prevalence of cigarette smoking; and,
A high number of mental health providers per 100,000 population.
The report also shows California’s challenges, which include:
A low prevalence of high school completion;
Low number of primary care providers per 100,000 population; and,
High levels of air pollution.
Health outcomes are influenced by a wide range of factors, including access to care, socioeconomic status, education, environment and health behaviors.
The objective of the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings Annual Report is to provide a comprehensive analysis of publicly available data of the nation’s health on a state-by-state basis. By evaluating a wide range of measures encompassing health outcomes, clinical care, behaviors, environmental and socioeconomic data, the reports aim to illuminate health challenges and successes, determine national and state health benchmarks and enable stakeholders to take action to improve health through data-driven insights.
For the last 36 years, the America’s Health Rankings has provided analysis on data to deliver a holistic picture of health across the nation. To read the full report, go to www.AmericasHealthRankings.org.
Dr. Dinelli Monson serves as the Chief Medical Officer for UnitedHealthcare of California.
