Seniors in states that invested in their health systems enjoy a higher quality of overall care, a new 50-state ranking shows.
Researchers compared health care in 24 categories for Medicare recipients in all 50 states and Washington D.C. related to cost, quality and access. The data, taken from publicly available databases, was weighed equally against each other before being averaged out, giving each state an overall score.
The analysis, conducted by insurance technology company MedicareGuide.com, ranked Minnesota first with North Dakota close behind. Massachusetts and California followed in the third and fourth spots. Nebraska ranked fifth, and Hawaii followed in sixth.
The results of the study aren’t surprising to MedicareGuide co-founder and long-time health care advocate Jeff Smedsrud.
“What’s interesting is that those states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, Hawaii, even North Dakota, that embraced improving access to health care 35, 40 years ago are among the national leaders now in providing the best care for those on Medicare,” he said.
Health care has become a point of increasing anxiety for seniors. In research released by Gallup in 2019, one out of 10 seniors reported they avoided seeking treatment in the past year due to cost. The same report showed one in seven seniors couldn’t pay for medicine prescribed to them in the last year.
North Dakota, ranked second overall, scored best in terms of prescription drug prices per capita, according…
