In 2000, the infant mortality rate was 6.0 per 1,000 live births. In 1999, there were 1,748 legal abortions in Vermont, or 13 per 1,000 women.
Heart disease was the leading cause of death in 2000 though the rate of 240.5 per 100,000 population was below the US average. Also in 2000, the death rate from motor vehicle accidents was 12.7 per 100,000 population. Vermont's suicide rate of 12.9 per 100,000 population exceeded the national rate of 10.7 in 2000 and was the 2nd highest among the New England states in the same year. In 2000, 21.5% of residents 18 years of age of Vermont smoked. The state's HIV-related mortality rate was one of the lowest in the country in 2000; only 428 AIDS cases had been reported in the state through 2001.
Vermont's 14 community hospitals had 54,701 admissions and 1,694 beds in 2001. There were 1,538 full-time registered nurses and 308 full-time licensed practical nurses in 2001 and 375 physicians per 100,000 population in 2000. The average expense of a community hospital for care was $1,257.90 per inpatient day in 2001.
Federal government grants to cover the Medicare and Medicaid services in 2001 totaled $413 million; 90,049 enrollees received Medicare benefits that year. Most Vermont residents have health insurance; only 9.6% were uninsured in 2002.