A total of 3,239 Hamilton County residents died in 2008. Five major diseases – heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease(CLRD), stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes – caused two-thirds of deaths. Heart disease and cancer alone accounted for almost half of all deaths.

The leading causes of death are similar to the national population for 2007 (the most recently available national data) with the exception of Alzheimer’s disease, which ranked as the sixth leading cause in the nation in 2007, as compared to the fifth leading cause in Hamilton County in 2008.

Overall, 33.3% of Metro area residents of all ages are covered by one of three government sponsored health insurance programs: Medicare (16.2%), Medicaid (16.3%), or State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) (0.8%). On the county level, coverage ranges from 28.9% of Catoosa County residents to 42.5% of Sequatchie County residents.