Vermont ranks fifth overall in health care

Vermont Business Magazine A recent study reveals some important Vermont statistics, including that the state ranks near the top in healthcare. Vermont placed fifth overall in the rankings, with New England states Massachusetts and Connecticut in the top two spots, North Dakota third and Iowa fourth. Vermont ranked well for total insurance coverage, overall health and infant survival, while struggling with staffing and insurance premium costs.

MoneyRates.com recently released its second annual healthcare report, finding sharp divisions from state to state and the District of Columbia (D.C.).

Using data from the US Census Bureau and the Kaiser Family Foundation, the study ranks each state's performance in eight categories. A comparison tool enables readers to contrast relevant healthcare delivery factors among states.

  • Vermont ranked first for infant survival, and came in the top ten for health insurance coverage and reported health status.
  • In physicians' office staffing and affordability of health insurance coverage, Vermont was rated as “frail."

Healthcare has already emerged as one of the leading issues in the 2020 presidential campaign.
While healthcare is a national issue, it varies greatly from state to state.

This Best States for Healthcare 2020 study highlights just how wide the differences can be.

Here are some examples:

  • A resident of Texas is six times more likely to be without health insurance than a resident of Massachusetts.
  • A young child in Georgia is about twice as likely as one in Massachusetts to go without immunization.
  • Thirteen states plus the District of Columbia have infant mortality rates at least twice as high as that of Vermont.
  • Relative to the size of its elderly population, Alaska has just one-seventh as much staff for nursing care facilities as North Dakota.
  • Idaho's doctors' offices have less than half the staff relative to the size of the state's population as Pennsylvania and three other states.
  • The average cost of a day of inpatient care at a hospital is three times as high in Oregon as it is in Montana.

These disparities show that, while healthcare may be a matter of national debate, your view of it may depend on where you live.

The 10 Best States for Healthcare 2020

State Rank

Condition

1-MA Robust
2-CT Robust
3-ND Robust
4-IA Robust
5-VT Robust
6-NE Robust
7-RI Robust
8-MN Robust
9-SD Robust
9-TN Robust
11-NH Healthy
12-DC Healthy
13-MD Healthy
14-KS Healthy
15-VA Healthy
16-MI Healthy
17-PA Healthy
18-ME Healthy
19-KY Healthy
20-CO Healthy
21-WI Average
22-WA Average
23-HI Average
24-NJ Average
25-IL Average
25-OR Average
27-MO Average
28-WY Average
29-LA Average
30-NY Average
31-CA Frail
31-FL Frail
33-AR Frail
33-DE Frail
35-UT Frail
36-AL Frail
37-MT Frail
38-IN Frail
39-OH Frail
40-NV Frail
41-MS Critical
41-WV Critical
43-NC Critical
44-TX Critical
45-ID Critical
46-AZ Critical
47-GA Critical
48-OK Critical
49-NM Critical
50-AK Critical
51-SC Critical

Based on average rankings across all eight categories, the following were found to be the ten best states for healthcare:

1. Massachusetts

In the two years MoneyRates.com has been conducting this study, Massachusetts was found to be the best state for healthcare overall both times.

Its greatest strengths were number-one rankings for health insurance coverage and child immunization. Massachusetts also ranked in the top ten in three other categories.

Apparently, though, good healthcare does not come cheaply: Massachusetts is one of the ten most expensive states for both hospital stays and health insurance premiums.

2. Connecticut

While it didn't top any individual category, Connecticut did well overall by finishing in the top ten in six different categories.

Its biggest weakness was being among the ten most expensive states for health insurance.

3. North Dakota

The best category for North Dakota was adequacy of nursing care staffing, for which the state ranked number one.

The only category for which it received a rating of less than average was in infant survival, for which it was rated as frail.

4. Iowa

Top-ten rankings for insurance coverage, nursing care staffing and affordability of hospitalization helped Iowa finish fourth overall.

Its below-average ratings were in doctors' office staffing and health insurance affordability.

5. Vermont

The state ranked first for infant survival, and was also in the top ten for health insurance coverage and reported health status.

It was rated as frail for physicians' office staffing and affordability of health insurance coverage.

6. Nebraska

By repeating last year's sixth-place overall finish, this year Nebraska's strongest suits were top-ten rankings in reported health status, child immunization coverage and nursing care staffing.

Its only weak point was a rating of frail for health insurance affordability.

7. Rhode Island

One of four New England states in the top ten, Rhode Island scored top-ten finishes for nursing care staffing and health insurance coverage.

However, it is one of the ten most expensive states for health insurance premiums.

8. Minnesota

Top-ten rankings in three categories - reported health status, health insurance coverage and nursing care staffing - helped Minnesota overcome a bottom-ten ranking for child immunization to finish in the top ten overall.

9. South Dakota (tie)

In tying for ninth place, South Dakota benefited from ranking among the ten best for reported health status and hospitalization affordability. This helped make up for the state being in the bottom ten for doctors' office staffing and health insurance affordability.

9. Tennessee (tie)

Though tied with South Dakota for ninth, Tennessee's healthcare characteristics are very different. It finished first in health insurance affordability and second in both doctors' office staffing and child immunization.

On the downside were bottom-ten rankings for reported health status and infant survival.

The 10 Worst States for Healthcare 2020

Here are the states that didn't fare as well in this year's study, listed from the worst on up to the tenth-worst:

1. South Carolina

After just missing the bottom spot last year, South Carolina fell to last place in this year's survey due to bottom-ten rankings in child immunization, nursing care staffing and doctors' office staffing.

2. Alaska

This poor showing overall was due to bottom-ten rankings in four categories: health insurance coverage, nursing care staffing, hospitalization affordability and health insurance affordability.

3. New Mexico

Healthcare staffing seems to be the big issue in New Mexico, which was near the bottom for adequacy of both nursing care and doctors' office staffing. The state was also in the bottom ten for reported health status.

4. Oklahoma

Though this state was rated as "healthy" in three categories, it landed in the bottom ten in all five remaining categories: health insurance coverage, reported health status, child immunization, infant survival and doctors' office staffing.

5. Georgia

The biggest problem in Georgia is that it ranks dead last for child immunization, though it was also in the bottom ten for health insurance coverage and infant mortality. That was more than enough to overcome the fact that Georgia is one of the ten cheapest states for hospitalization.

6. Arizona

Bottom-ten rankings for health insurance coverage, child immunization and nursing care staffing more than offset a top-ten ranking for health insurance affordability.

7. Idaho

Besides ranking dead last in per-capital doctors' office staff, Idaho also finished in the bottom ten for health insurance coverage, nursing care staffing and hospitalization cost. That more than overcame having one of the ten cheapest average health insurance premiums.

8. Texas

This state has the highest percentage of residents without health insurance. It was also in the bottom ten for reported health status and child immunization.

9. North Carolina

The biggest healthcare issue in North Carolina was a bottom-ten ranking for healthcare insurance coverage.

10. Mississippi

Three bottom-ten rankings - in health insurance coverage, reported health status and infant survival - were enough to land Mississippi in the bottom ten overall despite some of the lowest hospitalization and health insurance costs in the nation.

MoneyRates.com examined eight different aspects of healthcare performance in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. While every one of these had both strengths and weakness, overall performance across these eight categories formed a picture of the best and worst states for healthcare.


Best States for Healthcare 2020: Methodology

Using data from the US Census Bureau and the Kaiser Family Foundation, MoneyRates.com ranked each state's performance in the following eight categories:

  1. Health Insurance Coverage - based on the percentage of each state's population covered by health insurance.
  2. Self-Reported Health Status - based on the percentage of each state's population that reported their health status to be better than "fair" or "poor."
  3. Child Immunization Coverage - based on the percentage of young children in each state who had been immunized.
  4. Infant Survival Rates - based on the percentage of births in each state to survive their first year.
  5. Adequacy of Nursing Home Staffing - based on the number of such staffers compared to each state's population aged 65 or older.
  6. Adequacy of Doctors' Office Staffing - based on the staffing of doctors' offices relative to each state's population.
  7. In-Patient Expense/Day - based on the average cost of a day of inpatient care in each state.
  8. Annual Healthcare Premium affordability - based on the average cost of health insurance premiums in each state.

MoneyRates ranked each of these categories and then based the overall rankings on the average of rankings across all categories.

MoneyRates also classified state-by-state conditions in each category the way you might describe a person's health:

  • Robust - the best 20 percent
  • Healthy - the next 20 percent
  • Average - the middle 20 percent
  • Frail - the next 20 percent
  • Critical condition - the bottom 20 percent

See Report: https://www.money-rates.com/research-center/compare-healthcare-by-state.htm

Source: MoneyRates.com 4.23.2020