A new nationwide report has revealed the best and worst places to live when it comes to health care, and the gaps are deeper than you might expect.
The Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 State Health System Performance Scorecard ranked all 50 states using 50 measures, including outcomes like avoidable deaths, life expectancy, and hospital use. The report makes one thing clear: your state could be the single biggest factor in your ability to live a long, healthy life.
Massachusetts took the top spot for the strongest overall health care system, followed by Hawaii, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia. These states had the lowest rates of avoidable deaths and scored high in access to care, preventive services, and effective treatment.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mississippi ranked dead last, earning the title of worst state for health care in America. Joining it at the bottom were Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and West Virginia, all of which showed significantly higher rates of preventable mortality and limited access to timely medical care.
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According to the report, avoidable deaths, cases where timely, effective care could have saved lives, varied widely depending on where people lived. In West Virginia, for example, the avoidable death rate was more than double that of Massachusetts.
The data also exposed deep racial disparities. In 42 states, the avoidable death rate for Black Americans was at least twice as high as the rate for the group with the lowest mortality, highlighting systemic inequities that persist across regions and income levels.
While policy choices like Medicaid expansion did contribute to outcomes, the findings focus more on what those choices mean in real-world terms: whether someone survives a heart attack, manages a chronic illness, or gets regular cancer screenings.
The takeaway is sobering: geography still defines health in America. And in a country where a few hundred miles can mean the difference between top-tier care and deadly delays, the stakes are heartbreakingly high.
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Source:: Life – Fitness – mensjournal
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