Reply #3: Vermont Rated "Healthiest State" for third year in a row [View All]

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http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9529&JServSessionIdr001=3mt8wsrto1.app196a&security=1&news_iv_ctrl=1301

BURLINGTON--For the third year in a row, Vermont has topped the list of Healthiest States in America by Health Care State Rankings 2003, an annual reference book of state health statistics published this month by Morgan Quitno Press of Lawrence, Kansas.

"Our award reflects which states' citizens have the best access to health care providers, affordable health care services and a generally healthy population," said Scott Morgan, president of Morgan Quitno Press. "Vermont fits this profile well. It boasts a low teen birth rate, a high childhood vaccination rate and excellent access to primary care physicians."

"I'm very proud of what we achieved in Vermont,” said former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, M.D. "American voters can rest assured that I will do for America what I did in Vermont. It is unacceptable that we are among the last industrialized nations in the world that does not guarantee its citizens health care that can never be taken away."

According to Morgan Quitno Press, "The 11th annual Healthiest State Award is based on 21 health-related factors from Health Care State Rankings 2003, an annual reference book that compares the 50 United States in more than 500 health care categories. Factors considered include infant mortality rates, the percent of population not covered by health insurance, per capita expenditures for health care, percent of population lacking access to primary medical care, childhood immunization rates, and percent of adults who smoke."

The rankings can be found on the World Wide Web at: http://www.morganquitno.com/hcrank0