Becker's Analysis Links Chronic Disease Burden to Checkup Rates by State
In an analysis of three new KFF datasets, Becker's Hospital Review reports that states with higher chronic disease burdens among working-age adults tend to have lower rates of skipped routine checkups, likely because chronic conditions require regular physician contact. The data, drawn from the CDC's 2025 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, show 14 jurisdictions breaking this pattern: seven states (Arkansas, Ohio, Wyoming, Oregon, Wisconsin, Montana, Oklahoma) with both high disease burden and high skipped-checkup rates, and seven low-burden, low-skip jurisdictions concentrated in the Northeast. Nationally, 56.4% of adults 18-64 reported at least one chronic condition and 20.6% of all adults skipped a checkup in the past year. Cost remains a barrier but doesn't track neatly with checkup rates, with Texas, Alabama and Louisiana showing high cost-related skipped visits despite varying disease burdens.