WASHINGTON — More than six people a day die in Florida for lack of health insurance, according to a report released today.

The report by Families USA, a non-partisan organization that advocates comprehensive health care, is one of two that paint a dire picture of Florida's health.
 
The other, the annual state ranking of health care quality in each state, puts Florida fifth from the bottom. Only Nevada, New Mexico Louisiana and Mississippi - in that order - fared worse than Florida.

The Families USA report concluded that approximately 2,400 working age people died in Florida in 2006 because they lacked health insurance.

Nationwide, the organization estimated that twice as many people died that year for lack of health insurance than from homicide.

Of the more than 9.5 million adults in Florida in 2006 between the ages of 25 and 64, one-fourth lacked health insurance, the report said.

The Families USA analysis was based on a 2002 study by the Institute of Medicine which found a link between a lack of health insurance and health-related deaths.

That study estimated that uninsured adults are 25 percent more likely to die prematurely than those with private health insurance because they often wait until their diseases are severe before seeking treatment, which reduces their chances of surviving.

"Health insurance really matters in how people make their health care decisions," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. "We know that people without insurance often forgo checkups, screenings, and other preventive care."

The state health care ranking were published by CQ Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly Inc.

The ranking is based on 21 factors including: teenage birth rate; percentage of mothers receiving late or no prenatal care; percent of population not covered by health insurance, percent of adults who smoke, don't exercise or are obese.

Minnesota was ranked as the nation's healthiest state, knocking off Vermont, which claimed the title for six of the last seven years. Other top-healthy states include New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.
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