Maine moved up from ninth to seventh place in an annual ranking of the healthiest states released Monday by the United Health Foundation.
Maine rose in the rankings partly because the percentage of Mainers without insurance dropped 10% over the last year to 9.3%, and the percentage of smokers in the state fell from 30.3% in 1990 to 20.9% this year, according to the Associated Press.
The report said Maine’s health challenges include a high rate of cancer deaths and a low rate of immunization coverage, the AP said.