The U.S. has some of the highest healthcare costs in the world, but overall quality and cost can vary widely by state. Furthermore, the cost of care isn’t always reflective of quality.
Personal finance website WalletHub ranked the best and worst states for healthcare using 40 measures of cost, accessibility and outcome.
Here are the top nine states, along with the District of Columbia, for healthcare:
1. Vermont
2. Massachusetts
3. New Hampshire
4. Minnesota
5. Hawaii
6. Rhode Island
7. Colorado
8. District of Columbia
9. Iowa
10. Maryland
In the top spot was Vermont, which was also recently ranked as the best state for children’s healthcare. Vermont’s healthcare system was No. 1 for having the lowest infant mortality rate and also came in at No. 3 for the highest percentage of insurance children ages 0 to 17.
Second plan Massachusetts had the lowest average monthly insurance premium and the highest percentage of insured adults from ages 18 to 64, as well as the highest percentage of insured children. The District of Columbia clocked in with the most hospital beds and the most physicians per capita.
Here are the states that ranked in the bottom:
41. Tennessee
42. Florida
43. Georgia
44. South Carolina
45. Oklahoma
46. Alabama
47. North Carolina
48. Arkansas
49. Alaska
50. Mississippi
51. Louisiana
Louisiana came in at the bottom of the list, with the fewest dentists per capita, a higher than average infant mortality rate and the highest percentage of adults with no dental visit in the past year.
See the full list here.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."