Americans in the western part of the country struggle to receive timely and adequate medical care.
Utah, Nevada and Arizona are among the worst for access to health care because they suffer from a lack of resources, too few qualified doctors and have high numbers of uninsured residents.
Meanwhile, Americans in the New England region enjoy much more accessible medical services, with Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island ranking among the top states for healthcare access.
These states have more hospital beds and primary care physicians, as well as fewer uninsured residents.
However, patients in these states still face long wait times for emergency room visits and doctor appointments due to their densely packed populations.
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An analysis by Forbes shows that Utah is the least accessible when it comes to healthcare services
The analysis, carried out by Forbes And based on data from KFF, CDC and the U.S. Census Bureaumeasured 14 statistics.
These include the number of doctors, nurses and physician assistants in the state, the percentage of residents without health insurance, the number of hospital beds and how many people have put off care because of costs.
States were then scored on a scale of zero to 100, with zero indicating that the state had the highest accessibility to healthcare and 100 indicating that the state had the least accessibility to healthcare.
Utah topped the list with a score of 100 due to its lack of resources, including a lower number of qualified practitioners.
Additionally, Utah employers cover the second-lowest percentage of employees’ annual medical expenses, and eight percent of residents are insured.
As a result, 11 percent have postponed a doctor’s visit due to the high costs.
Utah also has the third-lowest number of primary care physicians per 10,000 residents (11.3) and the fewest hospital beds per 1,000 residents (1.7).
It ranks fourth in the number of nurses (3.9 per 10,000 people) and the state has the eighth lowest number of physician assistants (two per 10,000 people).
Nevada follows with a score of 93 out of 100. The high inaccessibility score is due to the fact that the state has the fewest primary care physicians in the country – 10 per 10,000 residents – and the second-lowest number of advanced practice nurses – one per 10,000. people.
Additionally, 11 percent of residents are uninsured, ranking sixth in the nation, and 13 percent have postponed medical care due to costs.
With a score of 92.15, Texas rounded out the top three least accessible states.
Total U.S. health care spending — including what the government, insurance companies and individuals pay for — exceeded $4.3 trillion in 2021, nearly one-fifth of the country’s annual GDP.
The Lone Star State has the highest percentage of people without insurance – almost 17 percent – and the highest percentage of residents – 16 percent – who put off a doctor visit because of the cost.
This delay or lack of care could be why Texas has 300 more preventable hospitalizations per 100,000 patients than the national average of 2,765.according to U.S. News’ Best States rankings.
To make matters worse, a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR) found that nearly half of the state’s rural hospitals (75) are at risk of closure.
Of all 50 states, this is the largest number of rural hospitals at risk, which could lead to poorer access to health care.
While Western Americans may struggle with medical services, people in the Northeastern US enjoy plentiful and more affordable health care.
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island are the top three states for healthcare accessibility.
Massachusetts is home to some of the highest-ranked hospitals and scored a zero on Forbes’ analysis.
Only two percent of residents are uninsured – the fewest in the country – and the state has the highest number of primary care physicians per resident and specialists per resident, at 23 per 10,000 and 30 per 10,000, respectively.
It also has the fourth lowest percentage of people delaying care because of cost.
Additionally, its top-notch health care system could be a factor behind the state’s nationally lowest infant mortality rate, second-lowest obesity rate and third-lowest smoking rate, according to a separate U.S. News analysis.
Connecticut ranked second with an accessibility score of 4.2 out of 100. The state is home to the most physician assistants per 10,000 residents (7.3) and has the third-lowest smoking rate.
Rhode Island rounded out the top three with a score of 4.5. It has the fourth lowest rate of uninsured people (4.2 percent) and the smallest percentage of residents who delay health care (7.7 percent).
It also ranks fifth in infant mortality and sixth in overall mortality.
The nationwide discrepancy could be due to the geographic differences between states, with the more accessible states having large cities where densely packed residents have easy access to top hospitals and medical research facilities.
While states that are least accessible tend to have more rural towns and populations tend to be more spread out, meaning people are further away from hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices.
In Utah, 12 percent of the population lives in nonmetropolitan areas, compared to just 1.5 percent in Massachusetts.
However, living in a big city can also have its disadvantages. Although healthcare is accessible, more and more people are fighting for it.
A separate analysis earlier this year found that Massachusetts had the second-longest emergency room wait time at 214 minutes.
Connecticut was 10th with 186 minutes and Rhode Island was third, with a wait time of 214 minutes.
Moreover, a 2023 analysis found that the average wait time for a doctor’s appointment in Boston, Massachusetts, was 34 days, above the average in 15 major cities – which was 26 days.
The AMN Healthcare and Merritt Hawkins analysis blames the long wait times on a growing population, an increasingly older population requiring more care and physicians leaving the field due to burnout.
In Utah, 12 percent of the population lives in nonmetropolitan areas, compared to just 1.5 percent in Massachusetts
In Utah, rural hospitals are spread throughout the state, and some areas do not have health clinics
Although some US states are doing better than others, overall the quality and accessibility of healthcare in the US falls short compared to comparable countries.
America spends about double what comparable countries spend on health care for its residents, but Americans live shorter lives and are at greater risk of chronic disease or death by suicide.
Compared to other wealthy countries such as Japan, Switzerland, France and Australia, Americans die an average of three years earlier, with a greater likelihood that their deaths could have been prevented with better access to care.
The US also has the highest maternal mortality rate, with 24 new mothers dying per 100,000 babies born, almost two and a half times the average in other wealthy countries and 19 times more than the top performer on the list, the Netherlands.
