The Health Divide Between the North and South

In a new "Experts" blog post in the Wall Street Journal, Commonwealth Fund President David Blumenthal, M.D., examines why health in southern states lags behind other regions of the U.S. The effects of lower incomes and levels of education, compounded by higher-than average rates of smoking and obesity and barriers to health care services, appear to lead to the much higher mortality rates found below the Mason-Dixon line.