(WFRV) – A new study from WalletHub ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from best to worst in terms of their healthcare systems, and Wisconsinites can certainly brag about their ranking.
According to the study, Wisconsin ranked No. 9 in terms of the nation’s best healthcare systems, finishing just ahead of No. 10 South Dakota. The scoring was out of 100, and Wisconsin’s total was 60.93.
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Three major categories decided the rankings, with cost, access and outcomes being in three separate branches. Wisconsin ranked No. 20 in cost, No. 8 in access and No. 15 in outcomes.
The following explanations and scoring are from WalletHub’s release:
- Cost: Each subcategory is worth roughly 5.56 points (Total of 33.33)
- Cost of a medical visit
- Average hospital expenses per inpatient day at a community hospital
- Dental visits cost
- Average monthly insurance premium
- Share of high ‘out-of-pocket’ spending
- Ages 64 and younger with high out-of-pocket medical spending relative to annual income
- Share of adults who skip doctor visits because of cost
- Access – Each subcategory is worth about 1.39 points (Total of 33.33)
- Public hospital quality
- Hospital beds per capita
- Average response time from EMS notification to arrival in minutes
- Average ER wait time
- Time before admission
- Average number of hours spent in the ER before admission
- Share of patients who leave the ER without being seen
- Physicians per capita
- Geriatricians per population aged 65+
- Nurse practitioners per capita
- Physician assistants per capita
- EMTs & paramedics per capita
- Urgent-care centers per capita
- Convenient care clinics per capita
- Medicare-certified rural health clinics per rural population
- Dentists per capita
- Share of medical residents retained
- Medicare acceptance rate among physicians
- Medicaid acceptance rate among physicians
- Share of insured adults
- 19 to 64 years old
- Share of insured children
- Up to 18 years old
- Share of adults with no personal doctor
- Status of State ACA innovation waivers
- Adoption of telehealth services
- Patient encounters in community health centers per capita
- Federally qualified health centers
- Outcomes – Each subcategory is worth about 2.22 points, unless noted (33.33 total points)
- Infant mortality rate
- Child mortality rate
- Maternal mortality rate
- Share of patients who are readmitted to hospitals within 30 days of discharge)
- Share of hospitalized patients discharged without home recovery instructions
- Share of hospital patients who didn’t receive patient-centered care
- Life expectancy (4.44 points)
- Cancer incidence rate
- Stroke, heart disease rates
- Share of adults with Type 2 Diabetes
- Share of at-risk adults without a routine doctor visit in the prior two years
- Share of adults who haven’t had a dental visit in the past year
- Share of children with medical and dental preventive care visits in the past year
- Up to 17 years old
- Share of non-immunized children
- 0-35 months old
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Next-door neighbors Minnesota and Iowa were ranked ahead of Wisconsin, finishing at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
The full study can be seen on WalletHub’s website.