Health care in Georgia ranks second worst in the nation

Health care in Georgia ranks second worst in the nation

The U.S. health care system faced new levels of scrutiny in the past year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There were shortages of medical masks, ICU beds, as well as nurses. But even before the pandemic, some states were much better equipped to handle both everyday health needs — and the pandemic — than others.

There are many states in which residents are much more likely to lack health care insurance. In many of these states, there are also fewer medical professionals relative to the population, which can hinder access to care, as well as underfunded medical hospitals.

The health care system in Georgia ranks as the second worst in the country.

The uninsured rate in Georgia is the third highest in the nation, with 13.4% of adult residents lacking health insurance. In addition, Georgia ranks among the states with the fewest number of health professionals per capita at 52.1 dentists per 100,000 residents (fifth lowest), 145 mental health providers per 100,000 residents (fifth lowest), and 66 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents (10th lowest).

GET UPDATES ON THIS STORY: Sign up for our free Email newsletter.

Lack of insurance and limited access to different health specialists may explain Georgia’s high rate of adults reporting poor or fair health at 18.4% compared to the U.S. average of 16.5%. The preventable hospitalizations rate of 4,835 per 100,000 people and the infant mortality rate of 7.3 per 1,000 are among the highest in the country.

To identify the states with the worst health care systems, 24/7 Wall St. constructed an index comprising six health measures for each state: the share of residents without health insurance, state spending on health care as well as on hospitals per capita, and the number of dentists, doctors, and mental health providers per 100,000 people. Each of these measures was weighted equally in the index. These are the 25 states with the worst health care system

RankStateUninsured rateAdults in poor or fair healthPremium contribution, single coverageState spending on health care per capita
25Wyoming12.3%15.3%$96.25$513
24Delaware6.6%16.3%$127.92$480
23Montana8.3%14.1%$93.50$167
22Missouri10.0%19.5%$109.83$332
21Nebraska8.3%13.8%$112.58$151
20Illinois7.4%15.9%$115.17$97
19Kentucky6.4%21.8%$121.08$98
18North Dakota6.9%13.6%$98.50$188
17South Carolina10.8%17.8%$111.58$247
16North Carolina11.3%18.0%$115.92$164
15West Virginia6.7%23.6%$113.08$160
14Oklahoma14.3%20.9%$115.25$223
13South Dakota10.2%13.4%$120.17$178
12Louisiana8.9%21.4%$122.08$101
11Alabama9.7%21.4%$132.75$117
10Arkansas9.1%23.3%$104.42$58
9Florida13.2%19.5%$120.17$225
8Idaho10.8%15.1%$73.08$104
7Tennessee10.1%21.2%$119.25$111
6Indiana8.7%18.2%$121.67$90
5Nevada11.4%19.1%$104.58$93
4Mississippi13.0%22.1%$109.08$133
3Arizona11.3%18.6%$126.92$81
2Georgia13.4%18.4%$108.25$119
1Texas18.4%18.7%$112.92$109

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Two Georgia teenagers dead from apparent gunshot wounds

Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links.


Events Calendar

Georgia Newswire