New Research Reveals the Best, Worst States for Healthcare in the US.
Recent research undertaken by Social Security Resource Center, looked at all 50 states and ranked them on healthcare spending, number of hospitals per million inhabitants, LPI score and physicians per 10,000 inhabitants, to reveal the best (and worst) states for healthcare.
Please see all the information here: https://socialsecurityofficenear.me/global-healthcare-index/
The top 10 states for healthcare in the US:
| Rank | State | Healthcare spending per capita | Number of hospitals | Patient to primary care physician ratio | Patient to dentist ratio | Patient to mental health provider ratio | Healthcare Score /10 |
| 1 | Massachusetts | $8,871 | 72 | 968 | 930 | 153 | 8.55 |
| 2 | California | $9,859 | 340 | 1,254 | 1,149 | 268 | 8.43 |
| 3 | New York | $9,851 | 187 | 1,194 | 1,174 | 329 | 8.25 |
| 4 | Oregon | $9,551 | 36 | 1,062 | 1,209 | 181 | 7.79 |
| 5 | Colorado | $10,254 | 57 | 1,211 | 1,220 | 269 | 7.49 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $9,778 | 78 | 1,179 | 1,135 | 415 | 7.36 |
| 7 | Maine | $10,559 | 20 | 899 | 1,484 | 202 | 7.19 |
| 7 | Washington | $8,702 | 60 | 1,184 | 1,198 | 251 | 7.19 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $8,076 | 35 | 1,183 | 1,139 | 242 | 6.68 |
| 10 | Illinois | $8,200 | 142 | 1,241 | 1,242 | 408 | 6.59 |
Massachusetts ranks first for healthcare in the US. Massachusetts has the best patient-to-dentist ratio, and patient to mental health provider ratio of all the states we looked at. The state also has one of the best patients to primary care physician ratios of all the states on our list, with 968 patients to every physician.
California ranks in second place and has one of the highest healthcare spendings per capita of all the states we looked at, equalling $9,859 per year. The state of California also has more hospitals than any other state on our list except Texas.
In third place, New York also has some of the highest expenditure on healthcare in the country, amounting to $9,851 per year. New York has 187 hospitals in the state, including some regarded among the best in the country.
The top 10 worst states for healthcare:
| Rank | State | Healthcare spending per capita | Number of hospitals | Patient to primary care physician ratio | Patient to dentist ratio | Patient to mental health provider ratio | Healthcare Score /10 |
| 1 | Alabama | $6,452 | 90 | 1,534 | 2,005 | 923 | 1.79 |
| 2 | Arkansas | $6,804 | 52 | 1,507 | 2,103 | 423 | 2.21 |
| 3 | Delaware | $6,587 | 8 | 1,334 | 2,041 | 354 | 2.30 |
| 4 | Tennessee | $5,982 | 98 | 1,396 | 1,801 | 634 | 2.60 |
| 5 | Georgia | $6,927 | 112 | 1,508 | 1,921 | 691 | 2.64 |
| 6 | Mississippi | $8,221 | 70 | 1,890 | 2,051 | 591 | 2.68 |
| 7 | South Carolina | $7,372 | 66 | 1,494 | 1,767 | 546 | 2.72 |
| 8 | South Dakota | $6,998 | 24 | 1,303 | 1,623 | 528 | 2.85 |
| 9 | Arizona | $7,549 | 78 | 1,523 | 1,586 | 713 | 2.98 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $7,627 | 10 | 1,299 | 1,506 | 509 | 3.28 |
Alabama ranks in last place as the state with the worst healthcare system. Alabama has a healthcare spending of $6,452 per capita, one of the lowest annual spending levels of all states on our list. Arkansas has a healthcare spending per capita of $6,804 and there are 52 hospitals located in the state. Delaware has a healthcare spending of $6,587 per capita, one of the lowest out of all states looked at, and just eight hospitals. Delaware also has 1,334 patients for every primary care physician, 2,041 patients for every dentist, and 354 patients for every mental health provider.