By
- Claudia Dimuro | cdimuro@pennlive.com
WalletHub has released its annual study on the best — and, by default, worst — states for healthcare
The report graded each of the 50 plus Washington D.C. across three key categories: “Cost,” “Access,” and “Outcomes.” Various sub-metrics including “Average Monthly Insurance Premium,” “Physicians per Capita” and “Cancer Incident Rate” were also taken into account
The final report ended up ranking West Virginia (47th overall), Texas (48th), Georgia (49th), Mississippi (50th) and Alaska (51st) as the bottom five states with the worst healthcare in the country. Each got some of the lowest marks across categories; Alaska, for example, got 51st overall under “Cost,” too
On the flip side, the top five best states with the besthealthcare were New Hampshire (first); Minnesota (second); Iowa (third); Rhode Island (fourth); and Hawaii (fifth)
“New Hampshire is the best state for healthcare, with the second-lowest out-of-pocket medical spending in the country,” the report reads. “Residents also have the lowest average monthly health insurance premium, at around $469
“The Granite State has the 10th-most nurses per capita and fifth-most physician assistants per capita, a testament to the strength of its frontline healthcare workforce. People with immediate but less dire issues can also benefit from the fact that New Hampshire has the most urgent care centers per capita that are certified by the Urgent Care Association of America.”
“Healthcare has two crucial components, cost and quality,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo. “The best healthcare in the nation isn’t helpful if it bankrupts the people who try to get it, and cheap healthcare isn’t worth paying for if it provides subpar or ineffective treatment
“Therefore, the best states for healthcare are those that make high-quality care affordable, on top of providing many options for doctors and making insurance easily accessible.”
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