While health insurance is widespread in Essex County, as it is throughout Massachusetts, the county shares many of the same health concerns as the nation: obesity, diabetes, smoking, cancer and drug addiction. The opioid crisis has hit Essex County particularly hard, as evidenced by high rates of admissions for treatment and deaths from overdose.
Just 4% of Essex County residents under 65 in 2018 lacked health insurance, similar to the state but far below the national rate of 10%. Spending on medical care was $524 per member, per month in 2017, higher than 2016 and below the statewide level of $630.
While Essex County was not immune from any of the nation’s leading health-related problems, the area where it stood out was substance abuse. A national survey found rising rates of illegal drug use that were somewhat higher in the county (20% of adults and 16% of youth said they used an illegal drug in the last 30 days) than in the nation. And the rate of drug overdose deaths in Essex County, 35 per 100,000 residents, was higher than the national rate of 21.
State data on treatment admissions shows the growing problem of heroin. While total admissions rose 15% from 2008 to 2017 to nearly 10,600, admissions primarily due to heroin while several other categories declined. By 2017, heroin and other opioids were responsible for 55% of admissions, up from 45% in 2008. Essex County’s rate of admissions, 135 per 10,000 residents, was below the state rate of 144 but far higher than the Middlesex County rate of 78.
In other areas of behavioral health and general health, Essex County more closely mirrors other areas:
- About 15% of adults smoke.
- About 4.5% report suffering from mental illness.
- The suicide rate of 0.9 deaths per 10,000 residents reflects an increase from 53 in 2000 to 75 in 2018, but the rise was not steady.
- About 63% of adults and 35% of children were overweight or obese.
- The overall mortality rate has been declining, falling 15% since 2000.
Essex County had relatively high rates in a few other areas:
- The rate of newly identified diabetes cases was 67 per 10,000 in 2017, far higher than the state and two of the three comparison counties.
- The rate of new cancers was slightly higher than the state, nation and two of the three comparison counties.