Methodology

For the report, WalletHub used 44 measures to assess each state and the District of Columbia on healthcare cost, access, and outcomes. WalletHub weighted the three categories equally, though some categories included more metrics than others. For example:

• The cost category includes metrics on the cost of a medical visit, average monthly insurance premium, average hospital expenses per day as an inpatient at community hospitals, and the share of adults who did not see the doctor because of affordability issues.
• The access category includes metrics on hospital beds per capita, urgent care centers per capita, adoption of telehealth services, and average ED wait time.
• The outcomes category includes metrics on infant mortality rate, share of patients who did not receive patient-centered care, cancer incidence rate, and share of at-risk adults with no routine doctor visit in the last two years.

WalletHub graded each metric on a 100-point scale and calculated a weighted average for each state. Having a higher score represented having better care at a reasonable price.

Findings

According to WalletHub, after Minnesota, which scored 67.38 out of 100, the states with the best healthcare systems in 2024 were:

2. Rhode Island (67.00)

3. South Dakota (65.47)

4. Iowa (65.09)

5. New Hampshire (64.08)

Meanwhile, the states at the bottom of the list were:

51. Mississippi (46.01)

50. Alabama (48.19)

49. West Virginia (48.46)

48. Georgia (48.61)

47. Oklahoma (48.93)

WalletHub also ranked states and the District of Columbia individually on the three categories, with:

• Iowa ranking first for cost and Alaska ranking last
• Rhode Island ranking first for access and Georgia ranking last
• Utah ranking first for outcomes and Mississippi ranking last

In addition, WalletHub highlighted the highest- and lowest-performing states on various metrics. For instance:

• Average monthly insurance premiums were lowest in New Hampshire and highest in West Virginia
• The District of Columbia had the most hospital beds per capita while Utah had the fewest
• The infant mortality rate was lowest in North Dakota and highest in Mississippi
• The District of Columbia had the most physicians per capita while Idaho had the fewest

Expert insights

WalletHub also spoke with five healthcare experts and asked them four questions Americans should consider as they "anticipate changes to their health care in both the short and long terms."

When asked about the most important steps that Americans can take to minimize health-related expenditures, Michael French, practitioner in residence at University of New Haven's School of Health Sciences, advised Americans to avoid "behaviors that increase morbidity and mortality in excess (smoking, drinking, etc.), eat healthily (omega-3 and legumes), exercise regularly (gardening, walking, triathlons, etc.), and be social."

When asked what the major issues facing healthcare in 2024 are, Stephen Parente, professor in the department of finance at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, said any new administration "will need to address the rising government costs of healthcare outside of Medicare trust fund expenditures," adding that "it will likely arise as major concern before the 2028 election cycle if health care government expenditures drive the federal deficit to and more than 100% of annual gross domestic product." (McCann, WalletHub, 7/29)

Advisory Board's 2024 Value Summit brought together leaders from provider organizations, health plans, life science companies, and professional service organizations. Together, these groups discussed and prioritized specific metrics — from cost of care to patient outcomes. Find out how these different stakeholders are measuring value in the healthcare industry.