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January jobs report: Unemployment rate falls to 4%, wages rise more than forecast; Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel; Ten Commandments in public schools debate reaches South Dakota; Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft; Mexican long-nosed bat makes appearance in Arizona.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

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During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

Report: Signs look good for a healthy new year in WA

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Tuesday, December 26, 2023   

Washingtonians' health is looking good compared to other states, according to the latest standings in the 2023 America's Health Rankings report.

The state ranks seventh in the annual report, with especially high marks in the social and economic factors and behavior categories.

Dr. Joshua Liao is a physician at the University of Washington Medical Center. He said this report is ambitious in terms of its scope, and Washington still has many areas where it can improve.

"That overall ranking of number seven is encouraging," said Liao, "and yet we have to take that in view of all those subcomponents and look at how did we get to number seven? I think that's very important as well."

Liao pointed to a few categories in particular where the state is struggling - including housing, transportation risks and climate risks.

The report also notes that drug deaths increased 93% in the state between 2016 and 2021.

On a national scale, the Chief Medical Officer for UnitedHealthcare Employer and Individual - Dr. Rhonda Randall - said there are concerning trends for chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

Eight chronic conditions reached their highest levels since America's Health Rankings began tracking them.

But Randall noted that states like Washington perform well in areas that help counteract these conditions.

"The states that have the highest rankings in behaviors," said Randall, "those are things like, are we getting physical activity? are we smoking? things like obesity, for example - have a tendency to do better on the chronic conditions."

Randall said there are other positives in the report nationally, such as the 7% increase both in mental health and dental professionals, and decreases in occupational fatalities and the number of people who are uninsured.



Disclosure: UnitedHealthcare contributes to our fund for reporting on Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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