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Massachusetts received the best overall score out of any state, ranking high in categories including reproductive care and women's health, health care access, and health outcomes, according to the Commonwealth Fund's annual scorecard measuring state health system performance.
The report focuses on three main challenges states are facing in terms of health care, including a "historic" rise in premature deaths.
The large increase in avoidable deaths led to a substantial decline in life expectancy across the US, the report found. A key factor in the rise of preventable deaths increased was COVID-19, which disproportionally impacted some states because of the state's underlying health and socioeconomic status, pandemic response, and percentages of vaccinated people.
Some demographics are harder hit by this rise in avoidable deaths than others. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native people saw the greatest rise and experienced the greatest drops in life expectancy.
Demographics also play a key role in findings related to women's health and reproductive health.
Women with low incomes, women of color, and women in rural communities are especially impacted by changes in health care access created by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. This ruling has sparked fears that health care providers will be unable to provide high-quality medical care, the report said.
Despite overall increases in maternal deaths during the pandemic, Massachusetts topped the charts on the scorecard for reproductive care and women's health, adding to its overall high score.
Along with Massachusetts, other states that consistently scored well were Hawaii, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, which ranked second through fifth, respectively.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Mississippi, which were lowest-ranked in this year's report.
Click here to read the full study from the Commonwealth Fund.
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