This article was written by Gwen Dilworth of Mississippi Today.

Mississippi earned low marks for preventable deaths related to heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, and high marks for declining opioid overdose deaths and school-aged vaccination rates on its public health report card for 2024.

The state has moved to being ranked 49th in the country – up from 54th last year – in America’s Health Rankings, which were released Tuesday, said State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney at a press conference at the State Capitol in Jackson.

“The number is not what’s important, it’s the lives that have been saved that this number represents,” he said.

The annual report, which reviews the state’s health indicators and highlights areas of progress and those in need of improvement, is produced by the Mississippi Department of Health and the Mississippi State Medical Association.

Mississippi has high rates of preventable deaths from heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. The report estimates that over 195,000 years of life were lost before age 75 in Mississippi due to preventable deaths in 2024.

Mississippi has long led the country in child vaccination rates, but slipped to third in 2024 following a federal ruling that decreed parents can opt out of vaccinating their children for school due to religious beliefs.

There has been a “modest improvement” in maternal and infant mortality rates in the state, though Mississippi is ranked 45th and 50th, respectively, in those categories. Edney called the state’s high infant mortality rates “absolutely unacceptable.”

There has been a reduction in opioid related overdose deaths in the state for the past two years, Edney reported, and the state had the 14th lowest opioid overdose rate in the nation in 2023. HIV and tuberculosis rates have also declined.

Dr. Jennifer Bryan, the president of the Mississippi State Medical Association, said the report is “a call to action for physicians, lawmakers, and community leaders to work together to reduce preventable deaths and invest in long-term health solutions for our state.”

Bryan said she hoped to see lawmakers pass legislation addressing consumption of kratom, an herbal substance that can be bought at gas stations and produces effects similar to opioids and stimulants and can be addictive.

Bryan and Edney both declined to publicly call for Medicaid expansion but said health insurance coverage and access to primary care physicians and routine screenings are essential to ensuring the health of Mississippians. Bryan said she hopes legislators will “get creative” and find a way to ensure more Mississippians have access to health coverage.

Lawmakers came close but did not succeed in passing Medicaid expansion during last year’s session. The state remains one of 10 to not expand Medicaid.

Edney said that the Department of Health will focus on school-aged health promotion, obesity, diabetes and a new obstetric system of care – a not-yet-implemented program that would designate hospitals’ level of obstetric care to serve patients with varying levels of risk – in the coming year.

The Department of Health made a small request for increased appropriations from the state Legislature for the coming year, focusing on several new programs to train early-career doctors and help Mississippians enroll in health insurance coverage.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.