The average life expectancy in a region says a lot about the population’s overall health, and a new tool  developed by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a glimpse at life expectancy data down to the  Census tract level. Having this data at the neighborhood level is useful especially in cities like New Orleans, where population health status can change drastically just by crossing a street. Maria Clark of Nola.com sheds light on the enormous disparities seen in New Orleans:

Researchers used “death data,” also known as the mortality rate, from different jurisdictions. In New Orleans alone, the data shows a more than 25-year-difference in life expectancy in neighboring census tracts. The highest life expectancy average in the state is in the Lakeview neighborhood, where the average is 88.1 years. The lowest average in Louisiana is in the Hoffman Triangle neighborhood, where the life expectancy is 62.3 years.

These deep disparities in life expectancy are rooted in disparate access to resources that improve population health including access to health care, affordable healthy food and high quality educational opportunities.

Stagnant wages keep millions in poverty
To effectively address poverty, we must have accurate information on who in America is struggling to make ends meet. People often incorrectly associate poverty with certain demographic groups or geographic regions, but the truth is, poverty is more pervasive and widespread than many people realize. Lauren Bauer of The Brookings Institute breaks down the new 2017 Census poverty statistics:

In 2016, there were more than two million Americans who worked full-time all year, but did not earn enough to work their way out of poverty. In 2017, that number was statistically the same. One culprit? Stagnant wages. There has been little growth in the real median hourly wages of American workers in the past forty years, with increases at the top masking alarming wage stagnation at the bottom. From 1979 to 2016, real wages shrunk by 1 percent for the bottom quintile but grew by 27 percent for the top.

As mentioned in LBP’s Census Data analysis last week, Louisiana has the second-highest poverty rate in the country, which is attributable, in part, to the state’s lack of a minimum wage above the federal minimum.

Failing the mentally ill
Even with the increase in health insurance coverage rates due to Medicaid expansion, Louisianans with mental illnesses are still having difficulty accessing the treatment they need to lead productive and fulfilling lives. The Nola.com/Times-Picayune editorial board highlights how the state’s inadequate investment in health services affects families with mental illness:

The expansion of Medicaid two years ago, which provided health care coverage to more than 470,000 uninsured Louisiana residents, was a positive development. But the payment rates for Medicaid in Louisiana are so low that it is hard to get providers to take patients. And the scarcity of mental health services makes that doubly difficult. As the Seay family demonstrates, even families with financial resources can’t always get treatment. A team at University Medical Center recommended in 2017 that Kevin Seay should try a long-term stay at Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville. But he never got closer than 51 on the waiting list. Meanwhile, UMC sent him a bill for $50,279 for his treatment there over several weeks. The hospital in Pineville has 120 beds for patients like Kevin, but the wait list was at 79 people last year. The state has a license to operate up to 196 beds, which essentially would wipe out the wait list, but there is no money allocated to pay for those beds.

Louisiana ill-prepared for next recession
Some economists and financial experts are predicting that rising inflation, interest rates increases and trade conflicts could push the country into a recession by 2020.  When the economy does slow, as it inevitably will, a new S&P Global Ratings report finds that fewer than half of states are financially prepared to weather the next downturn. Louisiana is not one of them. In fact, Louisiana is the worst-prepared state in the country. Laila Kearney of Reuters has more:

In addition to lacking reserves, states at risk of severe financial stress in the first year of the next recession also have higher revenue volatility and elevated fixed costs, including debt payments and pension contributions, S&P said. … There is also a greater number of states that are significantly unprepared for even a small downturn, with 17 states holding far less funds than they need, compared with 15 in 2017, Moody’s said. Those states, in order of least-prepared, are Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, New Jersey, Montana, Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, Arizona, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Kansas, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Michigan and Arkansas.

Number of the day
634,000 – Estimated number of adults in Louisiana who have a mental illness or substance abuse disorder. (Source: Nola.com/The Times Picayune)