A new report shows suicide, alcohol, and drug overdose deaths have reached near-crisis levels nationwide, and states are struggling to cope.
When it comes to overall health system performance, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont are among the top-ranked states in 2019. That's according to the Commonwealth Fund's "2019 Scorecard on State Health System Performance," which assesses all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 47 measures of access to health care, quality of care, service use and costs of care, along with health outcomes, and income-based health care disparities. New York ranks 14th, Pennsylvania 21st.
Economist Sara Collins is vice president for health care coverage and access at The Commonwealth Fund. She notes the report highlights three key findings: "First, death from suicide, alcohol and drug overdose are regional epidemics that are affecting states in dramatically different ways. Second, progress made in insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act passed has stalled, and it's even reversing in several states. And third, per capita spending growth in employer health plans which drive premium growth, outpaced spending and Medicare in a majority of states between 2013 and 2016."
- Download the full report, and/or a two-page summary for each state.
David Radley, a senior scientist for The Commonwealth Fund's Tracking Health System Performance program, says deaths from substance abuse take the lead impacting national health. "Drug overdose mortality is disproportionately impacting states in the eastern parts of the county and suicide and alcohol-related deaths are occurring at higher rates in the west."
According to Radley, states in the Great Lakes, New England, mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions have been particularly hard hit by the opioid crisis. Pennsylvania is among the states with the highest death rates from drug overdoses. "States that expanded Medicaid eligibility experienced improved access to the opioid reversal drug Naloxone."
The report found that between 2013 and 2017 in nearly all states, there were widespread reductions in uninsured rates following the Affordable Care Act’s implementation. Today, with health spending growing faster than median income, the pendulum is beginning to swing in the opposite direction. "Some states are setting provider prices closer to those used in the Medicare program for their state employee benefits program and public plans offered in the marketplace. Ultimately, improvement will require that states and the federal government work together to co-ordinate efforts and resources to ensure that whatever progress is made is sustainable."
The report attributes the change to a lack of Medicaid expansion efforts by individual states. New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania all expanded Medicaid.
Here are the overall health system performance rankings for each state:
1. Hawaii
2. Massachusetts
3. Minnesota
4. Washington
5. Connecticut
5. Vermont
7. Rhode Island
8. Iowa
9. Colorado
10. New Hampshire
11. Utah
12. Maine
12. Wisconsin
14. California
14. New York
16. North Dakota
17. Oregon
18. Idaho
18. Maryland
20. New Jersey
21. Pennsylvania
22. Nebraska
23. District of Columbia
23. South Dakota
25. Michigan
26. Montana
27. Delaware
28. Illinois
29. Virginia
30. Alaska
30. Kansas
32. Arizona
33. Ohio
34. North Carolina
35. New Mexico
36. Indiana
37. Wyoming
38. Alabama
38. Tennessee
40. Kentucky
41. South Carolina
42. Georgia
43. Missouri
44. Florida
45. Louisiana
45. West Virginia
47. Arkansas
48. Nevada
49. Texas
50. Oklahoma
51. Mississippi