WHI Impact Spotlight: Missouri

This 2022 county snapshot map of Missouri members in a subset of our commercial health plan membership shows how physical, behavioral, and social factors affect the overall health of the people we serve.

Average County Whole Health Index

Hover over or click a specific county on the map to display WHI information about that county. Higher numbers indicate better health.

The pop-up for each county shows the average WHI. Two counties can have a similar average WHI, but their physical (PD) and social (SD) drivers may be different, so these numbers are also included to give a better understanding of what is affecting health in that county. A lower physical driver assessment may indicate that more people in that county have illnesses or lack access to quality healthcare, while a lower social driver assessment may indicate more significant health-related social needs (whether for individuals or their community), such as greater transportation challenges.

For example, counties that are experiencing an increase in substance use disorders within their population may show a lower physical driver assessment even if their overall WHI is in the average range. Rural counties may show a lower social driver assessment due to transportation barriers or lack of access to nutritious food.

For privacy purposes, any areas or filters containing fewer than 30 members are not displayed and shown in white.

How we're using the WHI in Virginia.

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The Whole Health Index can help our Missouri-based health plans better understand what gets in the way of health for the people and communities we serve. Where transportation to medical appointments or food insecurity is a concern, we can work with community organizations to coordinate rides and to stock local food assistance programs. We can also see where poorer health coincides with lack of walkability, and we can work with local officials to address this. We are invested in our communities and the WHI helps us design programs to help them thrive."

Stephanie Vojicic

President, Elevance Health-affiliated plan in Missouri

A Closer Look at Missouri

The WHI measures the overall health of a state’s residents. It can numerically validate information that may be only anecdotally known about social drivers of health, and as a result, identify actions that may be taken to improve health. For example:

While Missouri's statewide average WHI in 2022 was 50, the numbers also show that well-being appears highest in suburban regions just outside larger cities.
Suburban St. Louis county has an average WHI of 56 (PD* 48, SD 63)
The more urban St. Louis city area has an average WHI of 48 (PD 49, SD 48)

Missouri’s WHI reveals every community experiences challenges to health, whether they are physical, behavioral, or social, and the WHI can help identify the ideal opportunities to address them.

Elevance Health-affiliated plans can also use the WHI at a more granular level to improve member health outcomes in Missouri. Leaning on established partnerships with our network of community-based organizations, we can support our members’ health more holistically.

*“PD” stands for physical drivers of health, and it encompasses the factors that typically go into measuring health, such as presence of illness, whether a person has access to and uses the healthcare system, care for chronic illnesses, and whether a person gets regularly tested for illnesses. The “SD” stands for the social drivers of health that have traditionally been left out of health measurement or given less importance, such as where someone lives, their employment situation, the ability to get nutritious food, and whether they have transportation. These factors make up the Whole Health Index and work together to gauge overall health.

WHI In Action: Community Partnerships

With the WHI helping to guide our understanding about what is most needed in a community, Elevance Health-affiliated plans continue to listen to and partner with local organizations to better meet those needs. These are two examples of how Elevance Health has helped communities address health-related social needs in Missouri.

Helping Parents Welcome Healthy Babies

Healthy Birth Day is a nonprofit focused on stillbirth prevention. We partnered with Healthy Blue’s Affiliated Foundation and Healthy Birth Day to expand their Count the Kicks stillbirth prevention program throughout the state.

The free Count the Kicks app has been available since 2015, but our support increased awareness to at-risk families in Missouri. The app helps parents expecting single babies or twins to see their kick-counting history, rate the strength of their babies' movements, and set daily reminders. This partnership also helped Count the Kicks to add a new social drivers of health survey on the app to address the food, housing, and childcare needs of families.

Improving Access to Nutritious Food

Through a partnership with Feeding America, Elevance Health supports the St. Louis Area Foodbank’s Food as Medicine program. The Foodbank collaborates with local healthcare partners to assess people for food insecurity during health care visits. The healthcare partner then connects patients to food assistance resources onsite and at community-based food pantries and meal programs.

Elevance Health also helps the Foodbank and its local healthcare partners with enhanced data collection, sharing, and analysis. This information empowers all involved to better understand the needs of people experiencing hunger and deliver effective solutions.

How the WHI is Calculated

The WHI uses more than 90 data points that fall into the broad categories of physical, behavioral, and social health. These data points range from financial strain, transportation accessibility, and housing instability to preventive dental exams, immunizations, and medication for mental health conditions.

Learn more about the WHI Methodology

The WHI includes not only members who live in the displayed state and receive health benefits coverage from an Elevance Health-affiliated health plan, but also members who live in the displayed state and who receive health benefits coverage through employers headquartered in other states in which Elevance Health-affiliated health plans are offered.