Though D.C., Virginia and Maryland each fell somewhere in the middle in a recent nationwide ranking of state health care systems, the District stood out as an area where mortality rates could have significantly improved with better medical care.
The report ranked states’ health care systems by 32 different indicators in five categories: access to care, quality, avoidable hospital use and costs, equity of care and healthy lives of its residents. Overall, Maryland fared the best of the three areas, ranking 19th; Virginia was listed 29th and D.C. ranked 32nd.
Recommended Stories
“The area didn’t stand out as being the worst or the best; it’s in the middle of the pack,” said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, which made the report.
The District’s scores were driven down by a very high black mortality rate and the less-healthy lifestyles of area residents, according to the report. It was ranked lowest in terms of deaths that could have been avoided by proper health care, with 160 deaths occurring per 100,000 people. It also did poorly in terms of deaths from breast cancer, infant mortality and colorectal disease, and had the most senior citizens whose activities were limited by health problems. D.C’s health insurance premiums, at $4,218, were among the nation’s highest as well.
Each area had its own small standouts: Maryland was the second-best state in terms of preventative care for seniors. Virginia ranked fifth on getting children all their vaccinations, and D.C. had the most adults visiting a doctor in the past few years, as well as the second-lowest number of obese adults.
Davis said all three jurisdictions could benefit from improving access to health insurance access for low-income families. Maryland should focus on improving the need for hospital readmission visits, while Virginia’s high number of bedsores in nursing homes were a concern, she said. D.C. could increase efforts to get young children proper vaccinations, she said.
