PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has the fourth-best health care system in the U.S., according to The Commonwealth Fund’s 2023 annual scorecard released Thursday.
In 2022, Rhode Island’s overall health system was ranked sixth. Massachusetts was second overall last year and moved up to first in the new scorecard.
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To determine its 2023 rankings, the independent national health care researcher based in New York analyzed data focused on overall performance across 58 measures of health care. They included health care access, quality, costs, health disparities, reproductive care, women’s health and health outcomes.
Data showed Rhode Island ranked second nationally for reproductive and women’s health, third for access and affordability, third for prevention and treatment, 24th for avoidable hospital use and cost, 12th for healthy lives, 17th for income disparity and fourth for racial and ethnic health equity.
Researchers noted the top-ranked indicators for Rhode Island were high out-of-pocket medical spending, self-pay in-hospital births and breast cancer and cervical cancer deaths. Its bottom-ranked indicators were hospital 30-day readmission rates for age 65 and older, primary care spending as share of total age for 65 and older and nursing home residents with antipsychotic medication.
Massachusetts ranked first nationally for reproductive and women’s health, access and affordability, prevention and treatment, healthy lives and racial and ethnic health equity. The Bay State was ranked 44th nationally for avoidable hospital use and cost.
Massachusetts’ top-ranked indicators were diabetic adults without an annual hemoglobin A1c test, breast cancer and cervical cancer deaths and adults with age-appropriate vaccines. Bottom-ranked indicators were primary care spending as share of total, age 65 and older, preventable hospitalizations for age 65 and older and hospital 30-day readmission rate for age 65 and older.
The rest of the New England region ranked highly as well. After Hawaii, which was second, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut rounded out the top six.
Wyoming was ranked the worst overall health system in the nation. That state ranked 33rd nationally for reproductive and women’s health, 49th for access and affordability, 46th for prevention and treatment, 25th for avoidable hospital use and cost, 34th for healthy lives, 37th for income disparity and 48th for racial and ethnic health equity.
