Health and Healthcare

Residents of This State Receive the Worst Healthcare in America

The cost of healthcare
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The U.S. Healthcare system is infamously awful, unfair, and exploitative. From the exorbitant costs to patients and the government to the high amount of uninsured American citizens, it is objectively one of the worst healthcare systems in the “developed” world.

We spend more on healthcare than any other country, yet our healthcare remains poor. Some states have higher quality and better-funded healthcare than others. We used data from WalletHub to measure the worst healthcare in America. The overall scores are out of 100. It is worth noting that the best state, Minnesota, has an overall score of 67.38.

#12 Tennessee     

Tennessee | Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
Nashville.
  • Overall Score: 50.95
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 45

Something unique about America is our high instances firearm injury death rate. Tennessee has a firearm injury death rate of 20.5 people out of 100,000 people. That equals 1,480 deaths per year. This is a unique problem that other wealthy countries don’t have.

#11 North Carolina

North Carolina campaign rally | Charlotte City Skyline night scene
digidreamgrafix / iStock via Getty Images
Charlotte.
  • Overall Score: 50.82
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 30

In 2023, 9.43% of infants had low birth weight. Low Birth Weight babies are born full term and weigh less than 5.5 pounds. This metric is important to pay attention to because low birth weight is completely preventable. This can point to several healthcare system failures.

#10 Florida

Florida | miami | florida.
miami | florida. by alyssaBLACK. / BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
Miami.
  • Overall Score: 50.77
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 42

Immunizations are the best way to prevent illness in the general population. Florida is experiencing a 10-year-low rate of schoolchildren being vaccinated. In 2023, only 18 out of Florida’s 67 counties met the state goal of having 95% of kindergarten students fully vaccinated.

#9 Louisiana

Louisiana | New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana by szeke / BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
New Orleans.
  • Overall score: 50.38
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 46

looking at the number of physicians per capita can paint an accurate picture of healthcare access. In Louisiana, there are 185 physicians per 100,000 people. This is far below the national average.

#8 Arkansas

Bentonville, Arkansas | Bentonville Arkansas
Larry Fleury / iStock via Getty Images
Bentonville.
  • Overall Score: 49.48
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 50

As of 2021, the death rate in Arkansas is 1.1k per 100,000 people per year. The national average is much less at 879.7 people per 100,000.

#7 Texas

Texas | Austin Texas Lake Front
Austin Texas Lake Front by StuSeeger / BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Austin.
  • Overall Score: 49.39
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 38

Access to health insurance is one of the largest contributing factors to health. 17.97% of all Texans are uninsured. That equates to 5 million people. Texas also has the lowest percentage of insured children ages 0-18. Considering that children can qualify for health insurance under CHIP, a federal program, this statistic is alarming.

#6 Alaska

Alaska | Aerial View of a Sunset over Downtown Anchorage, Alaska in Spring
Jacob Boomsma / iStock via Getty Images
Anchorage.
  • Overall Score: 49.13
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 32

Healthcare spending per capita is above the national average at $15,940 per Alaskan per year. The leading cause of death in Alaska is cancer.

#5 Oklahoma

Oklahoma | Bricktown, Oklahoma City
DenisTangneyJr / E+ via Getty Images
Bricktown.
  • Overall Score: 48.93
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 44

The leading cause of death in Oklahoma is heart disease. Oklahoma leads the country at 257.1 per 100,000 people. There are different types of heart disease, but generally, heart disease is caused when there is inadequate blood supply going to the heart.

#4 Georgia

Georgia | Savannah, Georgia, USA skyline on the Savannah River
Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
Savannah.
  • Overall Score: 48.61
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 43

The infant mortality rate rose 3% last year in Georgia. The infant mortality rate measures the number of infants who die before reaching their first birthday. It is 7.08 per 100,000 births. This translates to 893 infant deaths in 2023.

#3 West Virginia

West Virginia state image | Aerial view of the West Virginia State Capitol Building and downtown Charleston with fall foliage
Wirestock / iStock via Getty Images
Charleston.
  • Overall Score: 48.46
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 48

The proximity of patients to medical services is important. In 2021 alone, 3 hospitals closed in West Virginia due to funding issues in rural areas, with many low-income or below-the-poverty-line households. This devastated these communities.

#2 Alabama

Alabama state image | Montgomery, Alabama, USA
Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
Montgomery.
  • Overall Score: 48.19
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 47

Healthy People 2030 defines access to care as, “The timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes.” Alabama has an uninsured rate of 17.5% (the national average is 13.6%), affects 18–24-year-olds and rural communities the very most.

#1 Mississippi

Mississippi | Jackson Mississippi Skyline
SeanPavonePhoto / iStock via Getty Images
Jackson.
  • Overall Score: 46.01
  • Health Outcomes Rank: 51

Mississippi has the worst maternal mortality rate at 39 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The national average is 23. Not coincidentally, Mississippi also has the most restrictive abortion bans. Mississippi also has the largest infant mortality rate in the country, 3 times higher than North Dakota, which has the lowest rate.  

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