A wide disparity in access to and quality of care across the United States argues for a national health reform plan, according to executives at the Commonwealth Fund, who released a state-by-state survey of 38 health indicators.
The survey revealed a fivefold difference in performance on the indicators between the highest-ranked states and the lowest. The differences “translate to real lives and real dollars,” Karen Davis, Commonwealth Fund president, said at a press conference.
Health reform legislation would go a long way toward improving access and coverage, Ms. Davis said.
Since 2007, the number of uninsured adults has risen, and the “worst is yet to come,” said Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Fund.
The top quartile comprises Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Ten of the 13 states in the lowest quartile—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas—also ranked at the bottom on the previous 2007 report. Illinois, New Mexico, and North Carolina dropped into the lowest quartile since the last survey, while California, Georgia, and West Virginia moved up out of the last quartile in this most recent report. The lower-performing states had rates of uninsured adults and children that were double those in the top quartile.
According to Ms. Davis and her colleagues, if the lower-performing states were helped to reach the levels of the higher-performing states, 29 million more people would be insured.