Infant mortality during the 12 months ending with December 2000 was 6.5 per 1,000 live births. In 1999, 5,807 abortions were performed, a rate of 15 per 1,000 women. The overall death rate in 2000 was 811.6 per 1,000 population, with heart disease and cerebrovascular disease the leading causes of death. Deaths by accident (including motor vehicle accidents) were above the national rate. In 2000, Nevada had the 2nd-highest suicide rate among the states, at 21.3 per 100,000 population; Alaska's rate was the highest at 22.0.
Nevada also had the 2nd-highest smoking prevalence in the US in 2000, at 29.1% of the adult population ages 18 and older. The HIV-related death rate was slightly lower than the national average in 2000 (4.7 per 100,000 population); a total of 4,665 AIDS cases were reported through 2001.
Nevada's 24 community hospitals had 207,844 admissions and 4,099 beds in 2001. There were 4,746 full-time registered nurses and 481 full-time licensed practical nurses in 2001 and only 196 physicians per 100,000 population in 2000. The average expense of a community hospital for care was $991.30 per inpatient day in 2001.
Federal government grants to cover the Medicare and Medicaid services in 2001 totaled $371 million; 250,543 enrollees received Medicare benefits that year. At least 16.1% of adults in Nevada were uninsured in 2002, the 4th-highest percentage of uninsured residents among the states.