The Best States for Healthcare in the U.S. - See Where Oregon Ranks

Tuesday, August 08, 2017

GoLocalPDX News Team

Oregon is ranked in the middle of the pack when it comes to the best states for healthcare.

According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Oregon ranks 34th in the U.S. for 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.

Oregon's Rankings:

48th - Fewest Hospital Beds Per Capita
T-48th - Most % of At Risk Adults With No Routine Doctor Visit in Past Two Years

The Rankings

Oregon ranks behind Arizona and Idaho, who rank 32nd and 33rd respectively. Oregon ranks ahead of Montana and Kentucky, who rank 35th and 36th 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

Source: WalletHub

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)