Oregon Ranked 31st in U.S. for Health Care

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Tuesday, September 06, 2016

GoLocalPDX News Team

Oregon has been ranked 31st in the country for health care, according to a recent study conducted by WalletHub. 

"The Kaiser Family Foundation found in its latest analysis of global health care quality that the U.S. remains outperformed by several of its peers “on a large number of measures,” despite improved performance in others. In particular, the U.S. lags in “life expectancy at birth; cost-related barriers to health care access; the prevalence of retained surgical items or unretrieved device fragments; and burden of disease, which takes into account years of life lost due to premature death and years of life lost to poor health or disability," said WalletHub. 

Oregon ranks 39th in health care costs, 43rd in health care access and 14th in health outcomes. 

The Rankings 

Oregon ranks 31st behind Ohio and Indiana at 29 and 30 while ranking ahead of Tennessee and Texas at 32 and 33 respectively. 

Minnesota ranks as the best state in the country for health care, while Alaska ranks as the worst state. 

See the map below for the full rankings. 

The Method 

To Identifiy the states with the best health care, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia using three key dimensions, health care costs, health care access and health outcomes. 

They then evaluated the categories using 29 metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the best health care. 

WalletHub then calculated overall scores for each state using the weighted average across all metrics and built their rankings. 

 

Health Care Access – Total Points: 33.33

• Public Hospital System Ranking: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Number of Hospital Beds per Capita: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Average Emergency-Room Wait Time: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Number of Physicians per Capita: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Number of Nurse Practitioners per Capita: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Number of Physician Assistants per Capita: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Number of Dentists per Capita: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Percentage of Medical Residents Retained: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Physician Medicare Acceptance Rates: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Physician Medicaid Acceptance Rates: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Adult Health-Insurance Coverage: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)

 

Note: This metric measures the percentage of adults aged 18 to 64 with health insurance coverage.

• Youth Health-Insurance Coverage: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)

 

Note: This metric measures the percentage of adults aged 18 to 64 with health insurance coverage.

• Telehealth: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)

 

Note: This metric indicates the presence of telehealth in the state.

• Number of UCAOA-Certified* Urgent-Care Centers per Capita: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)

 

Note: UCAOA stands for Urgent Care Association of America.

• Number of Retail Clinics per Capita: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Number of Patient Encounters per Capita in Federally Qualified Community Health Centers*: Full Weight (~2.08 Points)

 

Note: “Federally Qualified Health Centers,” or FQHCs, are defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as “all organizations receiving grants under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (PHS). FQHCs qualify for enhanced reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid, as well as other benefits.”

Health Outcomes – Total Points: 33.33

• Infant Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Child Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Maternal Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Patient Hospital-Readmittance Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)

 

Note: This metric measures the percentage of patients readmitted within 30 days following discharge from a hospital.

• Life Expectancy at Birth: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Cancer Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Heart-Disease Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Percentage of At-Risk Adults Without a Routine Doctor Visit in the Past Two Years: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Percentage of Adults Without a Dental Visit in the Past Year: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)

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• Oregon Ranks Among Best in U.S for Teen Drivers
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• Oregon Ranks 3rd Worst in Country for Military Retirees
• Oregon Ranks 15th in the Nation for Raising Black Children
• Oregon Ranks 44th in U.S. for Online College Students
• Oregon Ranks Among Best Economies in US
• NEW: Oregon Ranks as 4th Most Charitable State in Country

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