By Danielle Garrett, Policy Fellow

If you’ve been reading our blog, you’ve probably heard how excited we are about releasing the 2010 edition of Making the Grade on Women’s Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card. Hopefully, we’ve sparked your curiosity and you’re wondering what the Report Card’s findings are. While the Report Card shows that the nation has a long way to go in improving women’s health, it also gives you a look at a better future under the new health care law.

The Report Card shows that the nation is still far from reaching important women’s health goals, and earns an overall grade of “Unsatisfactory.” The grading is based on 26 indicators of health status that measure things such as the percentage of women receiving health screenings like mammograms, incidences of diseases and conditions such as high blood pressure, and measures of community health such as poverty rates. The country only receives a “Satisfactory” grade for 3 of those indicators—the percentage of women age 40 and older getting mammograms regularly, the percentage of women visiting the dentist annually, and the percentage of women age 50 and older who receive screenings for colorectal cancer—and receives a “Failing” grade for 13!

Individual states also have considerable room for improvement. In no state do women enjoy overall satisfactory health status, and only two receive the next highest grade of “Satisfactory minus” (Vermont and Massachusetts). The majority of states receive an “Unsatisfactory” grade, and nearly a quarter of all states receive a “Failing” grade.

The report card also looks at state policies that impact women’s health. While states have made some progress in adopting policies to advance women’s health, such as requiring insurance plans to cover essential health screenings and providing Medicaid coverage for smoking cessation, progress has slowed considerably and most states are far from reaching important policy goals. Of the 68 policies examined, only 17 are met by a majority of the states. The average number of policy indicators met across all states was just 25.

While the findings show that the nation and the states continue to fall short of meeting women’s health needs, there is reason to be hopeful. The new health care law, The Affordable Care Act , will lead to major improvements in many of the areas examined in the Report Card. Check out the full report  to find out how your state fared and how the ACA will improve women’s health and well being.