News ranks the best states in terms of health care, based on the quality, access and health of the state's population. The states with the best health care in the United States are those where people are generally healthier, have access to health care services, and are least likely to be uninsured. The best states for health care are found across the country, from Hawaii to Rhode Island. That said, four of the top 10 states on our list are in the Northeast, while three are in the West.
Within these three categories, we break down the best and worst states into several data points about outcomes, costs, and access to health care. Below is a summary of those findings and the best and worst states for each data point. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provide estimates of health care spending in their National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA). The data is further broken down into other categories, including the care recipient's state of residence.
The estimates are calculated from several sources, including the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Every year, the Commonwealth Fund's state health system performance scorecard uses the most recent available data to assess how well the health care system works for individuals in all states. Finally, the authors would like to thank Maya Brod, from Burness, for her collaboration with the media, and the Center for Evidence-Based Policy at the Oregon Health and Science University for its support to the research unit, which made it possible to analyze and prepare the scorecard report. She is the author of a book entitled “The Health Care Consumer's Manifesto”, based on her research as a principal investigator at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School.
Finding good healthcare at the right price should be a priority for everyone, but sadly it's not that easy. The 2025 state health system performance scorecard uses the most recent available data to evaluate how well the health care system works for people in all states. Changing to a prospective payment system that encourages quality of care and health outcomes would help create a more equitable health care system for all racial and ethnic groups, income levels and geographic regions. The 50 metrics selected for this report cover the performance of the health care system and represent important dimensions and measurable aspects of care delivery and the health of population.
In addition, millions of uninsured people are eligible for Medicaid, subsidies for market plans or health benefits from employers, but are not enrolled. We thank Mental Health America for the data published in The State of Mental Health in America and the Urban Institute for the data published in Debt in America. Primary care providers play a key role in coordinating the care of their patients, detecting diseases, managing behavioral health problems, and managing the treatment of chronic diseases. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Community and Economic Research Council, The Commonwealth Fund, Trust for America's Health, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, U.Federal and state legislators and stakeholders can promote policies, innovative payment models and digital tools that support the full range of reproductive health services, from family planning and abortion services to maternity, postpartum and women's welfare care.
States were evaluated and ranked based on the performance of their health systems for each of the four groups separately (based on data availability), and then those scores were combined to obtain the state's final overall composite score. Minnesota is the third best state in terms of health care and has the highest number of convenient care clinics per capita.
