Every community can be described by various social and economic factors that can contribute to disparities in health outcomes. Conduent HCI's Health Equity Index (formerly SocioNeeds Index) considers validated indicators related to income, poverty, employment, education, language, Medicaid enrollment, and race to identify areas at highest risk for experiencing health inequities.

How is the index value calculated?

The national index value (from 0 to 100) is calculated for each zip code and county in the U.S. Communities with the highest index values are estimated to have the highest socioeconomic needs correlated with preventable hospitalizations, premature death, and self-reported poor health and well-being.

What do the ranks and colors mean?

Ranks and colors help to identify the relative level of need within a community or service area. The national index value for each location is compared to all other similar locations within the community area to assign a relative rank (from 1 to 5) locally. These ranks are used to color the map and chart for the Health Equity Index, with darker coloring associated with higher relative need.

For example, a zip code with an index value of 50 would be average, as compared with the rest of the country, but an index value of 50 could be high, compared to the values of other zip codes in your selected area.