The Mississippi State Department of Health released its 2025 Public Health Report Card on Wednesday, highlighting progress in areas such as opioid deaths and infectious disease while emphasizing persistent challenges tied to preventable deaths and infant mortality.
The report comes as Mississippi recently moved from 50th to 48th in the annual America’s Health Rankings report, a milestone State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney cited as evidence that long-term public health efforts are beginning to show results.
“This is why we have come off the bottom and we're now outperforming Louisiana and Arkansas,” Edney said. “And believe me, Alabama is looking over their shoulder at us today.”
According to the report card, Mississippi has recorded continued declines in opioid deaths and teen births, along with improvements in several infectious disease indicators like HIV and congenital syphilis.
The positive trends have helped reduce one of official's most closely watched public health measures, potential years of life lost before age 75.
Three years ago, Mississippi was losing roughly a quarter of a million years of life annually to preventable deaths. The most recent data shows that figure has dropped to just under 190,000 years, but it’s still the highest rate in the nation.
“We just cannot accept the fact that African American men in the Delta have a life expectancy of 65 years,” Edney said.
Mississippi continues to rank near the bottom nationally for chronic conditions such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
The report card also highlights another concerning demographic trend. For the second consecutive year, deaths in Mississippi outpaced births, a shift health officials link to premature and preventable deaths and to the state’s persistently high infant mortality rate.
Health officials say infant mortality plays an outsized role in both premature death and population decline. Mississippi continues to have the highest infant mortality rate in the nation and MSDH recorded its highest infant mortality rate in more than a decade last year.
In August, MSDH declared a public health emergency in response to rising infant mortality rates. The agency is now building a new statewide OB System of Care to reduce delays in getting high-risk mothers and newborns to hospitals equipped to care for them.
The approach mirrors Mississippi’s existing trauma, stroke and heart attack systems, which standardized hospital designations and transfer protocols. Edney said replacing ad hoc decision-making with improved coordination between hospitals has significantly improved outcomes for all three patient groups.
“Before the trauma system, you had a car wreck in this state, it didn’t matter what your trauma was, you just went to the closest hospital,” Edney said. “And many times that was the worst thing that could happen.”
Officials say similar coordination failures now exist in maternal and infant care, particularly in rural parts of the state where long transport times and limited access to neonatal intensive care units can quickly become life-threatening.
Under the OB System of Care, hospitals will receive formal maternal and neonatal level designations. Transfers will be centrally coordinated, and response times will be tracked to identify delays and breakdowns.
Lawmakers say the report card offers evidence of progress but also unmet health needs. House Public Health Vice Chair Rep. Kevin Felsher said he expects his committee to advance legislation to expand access to preventive care, including cancer and diabetes screenings.
“Our goal, make no mistake about it, is to make Mississippi's healthcare system what Mississippi's education system has become,” Felsher said. “We want to move from that 50, 19, 48 to 16, 17, or better.”
