Virginia's infant mortality rate in 2000 was 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, equal to the national rate. A total of 27,354 legal abortions were performed in 1999, or 17 per 1,000 women. In 2000, Virginia's death rate of 807.4 per 100,000 population was below the US average of 873.1. Mortality rates for the leading causes of death in 2000—heart disease, cancer, and stroke—were likewise below the national norms. Those rates (per 100,000 population in 2000) were as follows: diseases of the heart, 219.0; cancer, 194.1 and stroke, 58.9. The rate of HIV-related deaths stood at 4.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, lower than the national average of 5.3 in 2000. In the same year, 21.5% of persons 18 years of age and older were smokers. In Virginia 14,018 AIDS cases had been reported in the state through 2001.
Virginia's 87 community hospitals had 743,992 admissions and 16,775 beds in 2001. There were 21,524 full-time registered nurses and 3,120 full-time licensed practical nurses in 2001 and 272 physicians per 100,000 population in 2000. The average expense of a community hospital for care was $1,107.60 per inpatient day in 2001.
Federal government grants to cover the Medicare and Medicaid services in 2001 totaled $1.8 billion; 909,536 enrollees received Medicare benefits that year. At least 10.9% of Virginia's residents were uninsured in 2002.