Many U.S. states are now looking as if their excess mortality rates for the third quarter could be more like the high numbers reported for the first quarter of this year than the lower numbers reported in the second quarter, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The number of new COVID-19 cases has started to rise in many parts of the country, and news reports have surfaced of patients with COVID-19 filling the beds of hospital intensive care units. Related: Surge in COVID cases spurs new demand for tests Even if hospitals are able to save the lives of people with COVID-19, the pressure on ICU units could increase the death rate from other causes, such as cancer and heart disease. One sign of hospitals' stress is the ICU utilization data compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The most recent data available is for Aug. 6. On that date, hospitals reported overall adult ICU occupancy rates ranging from 36.8% in Wyoming to 92.8% in Alabama, with a median of about 74.5%. The percentage of the ICU beds occupied by people with COVID-19 ranged from 3% in North Dakota up to 43.7% in one Southeastern state. The median was 13%. For a look at the 10 states with the worst COVID-19 adult ICU bed occupancy percentages, see the slideshow above. For COVID-19 and overall occupancy rates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, see the chart below.
|Hospital Adult Intensive Care Unit Occupancy | |||
| (As of Aug. 6) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult ICU Beds in Data | Occupied by COVID-19 Patient (in percent) | Occupied (in percent) | |
| Alabama | 1,584 | 35.2% | 92.8% |
| Alaska | 130 | 22.3% | 79.2% |
| Arizona | 1,038 | 39.6% | 79.2% |
| Arkansas | 2,131 | 16.5% | 57.7% |
| California | 6,858 | 18.1% | 75.4% |
| Colorado | 1,313 | 12.9% | 69.4% |
| Connecticut | 1,030 | 3.9% | 52.7% |
| Delaware | 182 | 4.4% | 75.4% |
| District of Columbia | 322 | 5.3% | 78.5% |
| Florida | 6,354 | 43.3% | 89.5% |
| Georgia | 2,631 | 30.0% | 84.8% |
| Hawaii | 212 | 16.5% | 64.2% |
| Idaho | 302 | 24.2% | 77.2% |
| Illinois | 3,262 | 7.9% | 65.5% |
| Indiana | 2,248 | 13.0% | 68.3% |
| Iowa | 634 | 11.8% | 65.8% |
| Kansas | 835 | 20.4% | 76.6% |
| Kentucky | 1,787 | 17.0% | 65.1% |
| Louisiana | 1,765 | 43.7% | 84.2% |
| Maine | 308 | 8.1% | 81.8% |
| Maryland | 1,230 | 9.8% | 73.1% |
| Massachusetts | 1,333 | 5.5% | 75.4% |
| Michigan | 2,481 | 6.4% | 74.9% |
| Minnesota | 906 | 10.2% | 74.3% |
| Mississippi | 830 | 43.6% | 86.3% |
| Missouri | 1,827 | 36.5% | 87.2% |
| Montana | 220 | 16.8% | 64.2% |
| Nebraska | 562 | 10.9% | 74.6% |
| Nevada | 842 | 30.0% | 82.3% |
| New Hampshire | 284 | 4.6% | 63.7% |
| New Jersey | 3,017 | 3.0% | 40.3% |
| New Mexico | 413 | 20.6% | 78.6% |
| New York | 5,080 | 5.5% | 65.8% |
| North Carolina | 2,305 | 19.3% | 81.8% |
| North Dakota | 197 | 3.0% | 61.2% |
| Ohio | 4,049 | 6.7% | 67.8% |
| Oklahoma | 938 | 32.2% | 84.4% |
| Oregon | 769 | 16.3% | 72.6% |
| Pennsylvania | 3,603 | 5.3% | 73.9% |
| Rhode Island | 143 | 9.1% | 80.3% |
| South Carolina | 1,208 | 21.9% | 77.9% |
| South Dakota | 226 | 5.8% | 57.0% |
| Tennessee | 2,289 | 20.0% | 72.2% |
| Texas | 6,731 | 34.7% | 89.0% |
| Utah | 614 | 25.4% | 67.7% |
| Vermont | 97 | 8.2% | 76.7% |
| Virginia | 1,861 | 8.7% | 70.3% |
| Washington | 1,238 | 18.7% | 74.7% |
| West Virginia | 637 | 11.1% | 76.1% |
| Wisconsin | 1,545 | 8.5% | 57.4% |
| Wyoming | 125 | 13.6% | 36.8% |
| NATIONAL TOTAL | 82,526 | -- | -- |
| NATIONAL AVERAGE | -- | 17.0% | 72.6% |
| Source: HHS | |||
(Photo: Shutterstock)
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Allison Bell
Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.
