RI Ranked 10th Best State in U.S. for Healthcare
Tuesday, August 08, 2017
Rhode Island is ranked as one of the best states in the U.S. for healthcare.
According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Rhode Island is the 10th best state in the country when it comes to healthcare.
“Higher costs don’t necessarily translate to better results. In its latest analysis of global health care quality, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that the U.S. remains outperformed by several other wealthy nations on several measures, such as health coverage, life expectancy and disease burden, which measures longevity and quality of life. However, the U.S. has progressed in others, particularly “its ability to promote health and provide high-quality care, with some recent improvement in the accessibility of that care and a slowing of spending growth,” said WalletHub.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRI’s Rankings:
- 12th Best – Avg. Monthly Insurance Premium
- 14th Best – Hospital Beds per Capita
- 3rd Best – Physicians per Capita
- 18th Best – Physician Medicare-Acceptance Rate
- 13th Best – % of Insured Adults Aged 18 to 64
- 13th Best – % of Insured Children Aged 0 to 17
- 2nd Best – % of At-Risk Adults with No Routine Doctor Visit in Past Two Years
- 4th Best– % of Adults with No Dental Visit in Past Year
The Rankings
Rhode Island is ranked behind Vermont and Massachusetts, who rank 8th and 9th respectively. RI is ranked ahead of Maryland and Kansas, who rank 11th and 12th respectively.
Hawaii is ranked as the best state in the U.S. for healthcare, while Louisiana is ranked as the worst state.
See the full rankings in the map below
The Method
In order to determine the best and worst states for healthcare, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: 1) Cost, 2) Access and 3) Outcomes.
They evaluated those dimensions using 35 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best healthcare at the most reasonable cost.
Lastly, they determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Cost – Total Points: 33.33
- Cost of Medical Visit: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
- Cost of Dental Visit: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
- Average Monthly Insurance Premium: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
- Share of High Out-of-Pocket Medical Spending: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
- Share of Adults with No Doctor Visits Due to Cost: Full Weight (~11.11 Points)
Access – Total Points: 33.33
- Quality of Public Hospital System: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Hospital Beds per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Average Emergency-Room Wait Time: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Physicians per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Nurse Practitioners per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Physician Assistants per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- EMTs & Paramedics per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Urgent-Care Centers per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Retail Clinics per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Dentists per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Share of Medical Residents Retained: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Medicare Acceptance Rate Among Physicians: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Medicaid Acceptance Rate Among Physicians: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Share of Insured Adults: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Share of Insured Children: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Share of Adults with No Personal Doctor: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Presence of Telehealth: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Patient Encounters in Community Health Centers per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
Outcomes – Total Points: 33.33
- Infant Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Child Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Maternal Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Share of Patients Readmitted to Hospitals: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Life Expectancy: Double Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Cancer Rate: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Heart Disease Rate: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Share of Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Share of At-Risk Adults with No Routine Doctor Visit in Past Two Years: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Share of Adults with No Dental Visit in Past Year: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Share of Children with Medical & Dental Preventive-Care Visits in Past Year: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Share of Non-Immunized Children: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
Related Slideshow: The Power List - Health and Education, 2016
Related Articles
- RI Ranked 7th Best in U.S. for Children’s Healthcare
- RI Healthcare System’s Key Player is Under Investigation by DOJ and Bonds Are Downgraded
- Cicilline Blasts Senate Republican Healthcare Bill in Statement
- RI Doctor Charged With Healthcare Fraud, Receiving Kickbacks
- Care New England Signs Agreement With Partners Healthcare for Potential Merger
- Nelipak Healthcare Packaging to Host Job Fair at Cranston Headquarters
- RI Ranked One of the Worst States for Doctors in U.S.
- RI Ranked 29th in US for Doctors
- Smart Benefits: Millennials Still find Healthcare Unaffordable
- Major Education and Healthcare Collaboration in RI on Neuroscience Research
- Gary Sasse “The Money Man” Talks About the Implications of Healthcare Consolidation to RI