States in the Northeast and Upper Midwest tended to rank higher in multiple categories. States with the lowest scores tended to be in the South. The same states that did well on access to care also did well on quality of care. Four of the five top states in access to care (Massachusetts, Iowa, Rhode Island and Maine) were also among the highest on quality of care. States with low-quality rankings tended to have high rates of uninsured residents.
The top five states overall were Hawaii, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, all of which have high rates of health insurance -- nearly 90 percent of working-age adults.
"Where you live really matters in terms of your experience with the American health-care system," Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund, said at a news conference Tuesday. "The gaps from state to state add up to real lives and real dollars."
The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults.
The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy. An international program in health policy is designed to stimulate innovative policies and practices in the United States and other industrialized countries.