Drug deaths in Florida increased 52% over the two years from 2018 to 2020
Florida ranks 27th among states for overall health, yet it is experiencing a dramatic increase in drug-related deaths, according to the latest United States Health Classifications.
This is the first state health classification in two years, which was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The analysis is produced by United Health Foundationthe philanthropic arm of the insurance giant, UnitedHealth Group.
A separate report provides some preliminary findings on how the pandemic affected the well-being of Americans nationally.
According to recently released state rankings, drug-related deaths in Florida increased 52% from approximately 22 deaths per 100,000 to 34 deaths between 2018 and 2020. The US rate is 28 drug deaths per 100,000. 100,000 inhabitants.
On a positive note in Florida, the report shows that reading proficiency among fourth graders in public schools is 39%, above the national rate of 32%.
The state falls short on key health care metrics: the uninsured rate is 12%, above the national rate of 9%.
Florida public health funding is $79 per person compared to the US rate of $116 per person.
Plus:Southwest Florida hospitals tighten care as workers fall from COVID, during busiest time of year
And the state continues to have a low supply of mental health providers, about 200 per 100,000 residents. The national rate is 300 mental health professionals.
Related:Collier planning board gives approval to mental health complex after pushback from neighbors
Overall, the five healthiest states are New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and Hawaii.
The bottom five are Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Alabama.
Why an increase in drug-related deaths?
Drug overdoses have increased in Southwest Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue as people struggle to recover from the damage from Hurricane Ian on September 28, said Stacey Cook, president and CEO of SalusCare, the non-profit mental health and addiction treatment center in Lee County.
“With a lot of uncertainty, anxiety, loneliness and depression, people often turn to a substance instead of treatment,” he said.
Plus:SalusCare faces insurance battle over Ian’s flood; patients should go elsewhere for help
“We are seeing more people get into trouble with alcohol, especially women. With methamphetamines and opioids laced with unknown substances, people have no idea what’s in them, increasing the overdose rate,” she said.
The shortage of mental health professionals does not surprise Cook or the David Lawrence Centersthe nonprofit mental health and drug treatment center in Collier County.
“In fact, this (report) is further verification of what we’ve been seeing in Florida and in our local community,” said Scott Burgess, David Lawrence CEO.
Many factors contribute to the struggle to attract behavioral health professionals, he said.
“The state of Florida has below average investment in behavioral health,” he said. “Reimbursement rates from Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance companies are low, and there are barriers to getting covered behavioral health services even when you are entitled to coverage from your insurance company.”
Keep in mind the high cost of housing, especially in Southwest Florida, and recruiting is challenging, he said.
“It really is time to increase investment and reimbursement for much-needed behavioral health care for children, families and adults so they can get the help they need,” he said.
SalusCare’s Cook said there are 412 child and adolescent psychiatrists statewide for four million children in need. The figure comes from the Florida Behavioral Health Association.
“The average age of child and adolescent psychiatrists in Lee is 52, so they are getting older,” he said. “Less than 30% accept Medicaid.”
The turnover rate for mental health workers is 40%, he said.
“At SalusCare, we have more than 60 open positions out of 350 employees that we are actively recruiting for, and three of our facilities are closed due to storm damage,” Cook said. “We continue to see people leave the workforce to leave the area, or leave the profession entirely, leaving because they are burned out.”
The housing problem
When it comes to how severe the high cost of housing is in the state, 19% of Florida families face pressure, essentially the same as in the 2021 report.
Similarly, 10% of Florida households are food insecure, similar to a year ago, and slightly below the US rate of 10.5%.
Based on Florida’s population of 21.8 million, that means more than 2.1 million people are going hungry, said Elizabeth Radi, a representative for the Collier County Tenants Unionsaid.
Lowering the cost of housing has been going on for so long in the state that it’s like “putting a Band-Aid on a hand and ignoring a broken leg,” Radi said.
“We need balance, the housing/rental market needs balance,” he said. “And we can’t depend on compassionate landlords (when) many don’t even live in the country and are large investment corporations.”
Radi said he doesn’t know what lawmakers in Collier or at the state level think or expect to happen, but he said it’s clear they have no intention of trying to fix the problem.
“Short term or long term, they have ignored the ideas and thrown the can down the road, as if someone else should handle it. It is my hope that people will start to get sick and tired of what is happening and start to hold their leaders and our select legislative body accountable.”
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
America’s Health Rankings addressed how the pandemic has impacted the nation’s health with the results of a survey of 3,800 people across the country. The survey was conducted online from October 12 to 23 of this year.
The big takeaway is how the pandemic disproportionately affected racial and ethnic groups.
Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health AssociationHe said it’s clear the nation has a health debt to pay.
“For too long, we have underinvested in our public health infrastructure and in the health of underserved communities of color where rates of chronic conditions and other health problems are highest,” he said in the report.
Below are the key findings at the national level:
- Premature deaths before age 75 increased 18% nationally.
- Drug-related deaths increased by 30% between 2019 and 2020. The rate went from 21% to 28% of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, the data shows. It was the biggest year-over-year increase since 2007.
- Drug-related deaths increased the most among blacks at 43%, followed by Hispanics at 37%, and a 36% increase among Asians. Among the white population, drug deaths increased 25%, the data shows.
- Overall, deaths from COVID-19 were higher in 2021 compared to the previous year. In 2021 there were 416,849 deaths for a rate of 102 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2020, the rate was 85 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.