Vermont Tops Health Care Score Card
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A non-partisan study by the Commonwealth Fund Commission rated the quality of health care by state. Generally, New England and upper Midwest states fared best, while states in the South fared worst. (Vermont came in first; Mississippi, last.)
The great disparity in quality of care, affordability, and availability highlights the urgent need for health care reform at the Federal level. And if lawmakers need a model for reform, they need look no further than the Green Mountain state. With 93 percent insured, we must be doing something right.
“We’re small. There are 19 cities larger than the state of Vermont,” said Susan Besio, director for health care reform and Medicaid for Vermont.
“But I believe there is something unique about Vermont in terms of its culture,” she told ABCNews.com. “We want to take care of each other and we are a healthy state.”
In Mississippi, however, about 20 percent are uninsured despite having some of the highest rates of hypertension, diabetes and asthma.
According to the report, only 35.7 percent of adults 50 or over in Mississippi receive recommended screening and preventive care.
“When you compare Mississippi on almost any socio-economic profile, we are a struggling population that has a large percentage of low-income individuals, high unemployment rates, low rate of education,” said Robert Pugh, director of the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association.
The scorecard “paints a picture of health care systems under stress, with deteriorating health insurance coverage for adults and rising health care costs,” according to co-author Cathy Schoen, who is senior vice president of the commission.
“Where you live matters for access, quality of care and whether you live a long and healthy life,” she told ABCNews.com. “These wide and persistent gaps among states highlight the need for national reforms and federal action to support states.”
For example, 32 percent of working-age adults in Texas are uninsured, compared to only 7 percent in Massachusetts in the most recent survey.
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