Quality of Health Care Varies Widely Among U.S. States

Mar. 23 -- WEDNESDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to health care, U.S. states are, well, all over the map.

A new study finds large disparities in how different states perform in reference to quality of health care, with some states outdoing others by a factor of two or even three.

For instance, premature death rates (before age 75) from conditions that might have been prevented with appropriate medical care were 50 percent lower in states such as Minnesota, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming and Alaska than in the District of Columbia and states with the highest premature death rates -- Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. In the first five states, average death rates were 74.1 per 100,000 people, compared to 141.7 per 100,000 people in the other four states and the District of Columbia.

The new scorecard was issued Wednesday by The Commonwealth Fund, and is the first report to rate states this way.

In 2006, a international scorecard by The Commonwealth Fund found that the U.S. health-care system got a "D" (for dismal) ranking, last among six Western nations in health care, despite spending the most.

This new report drills down to a more local level.

"The states scorecard is closer to home. Where you live really matters in terms of your experience with the American health-care system," Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund, said at a news conference Tuesday. "The gaps from state to state add up to real lives and real dollars."

If the low-performing states could catch up with their high-achieving counterparts, 90,000 premature deaths (before the age of 75) could be avoided, 22 million additional adults and children would be insured, nearly 9.5 million older adults would receive basic screenings, nearly 4 million diabetics would receive critical annual preventive care, and states would save $22 billion a year in Medicare costs, according to the report.

The report ranked states on 32 indicators grouped into five categories: access, quality, potentially avoidable use of hospitals and costs of care, equity, and ability to live long and healthy lives.