Provider performance varies widely across states

Care quality, access, costs and rates of avoidable hospitalizations vary widely from state to state, with a huge gap between the best and worst performers, according to new research from a health advocacy group. The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, which released its "State Scorecard on Health System Performance" yesterday, found that states which provide good access to care (especially access to health insurance) tend to offer a better quality of care as well. The reverse is also true: states with low quality scores typically had larger uninsured populations, the group found. To score state health systems, the group looked at 32 indicators, including the number of adults under age 65 who had health insurance, the number of adults age 50 and older who got the right screenings and preventive care, the extent to which young children who got the right vaccines, Medicare 30-day hospital readmission rates and rates of deaths that could be prevented by appropriate care.

To find out more about the scorecard:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (sub. req.)
- read the Commonwealth Fund report

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