Florida Ranks 14th Worst in Healthcare: Report

SARASOTA, FL — Florida has the 14th worst health care system in the country, losing points for its high number of uninsured adults and children and average monthly insurance premiums, among other factors.

That’s according to WalletHub, the website dedicated to personal finance. Its number crunchers recently dove into statistics related to 29 key metrics to rank the country’s 50 states and the District of Columbia based on their healthcare systems.

“Major insurers such as Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare recently announced their exit from state-sponsored insurance exchanges while the uninsured rate has fallen to a historic low, bringing into question the cost and quality of health care in America,” WalletHub’s Diana Popa explained. “With such developments in mind, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2016’s States with the Best & Worst Health Care.”

When all was said and done, Minnesota, Maryland, South Dakota, Iowa and Utah earned the top five honors, respectively. Florida scored 38th overall, giving it the 14th worst distinction. The Sunshine State, however, was not the worst of the worst; that position was earned by Alaska, according to WalletHub.

Metrics that brought Florida down in the rankings included:

• Percentage of adults age 18 to 64 with health insurance – 50th place
• Percentage of children age 0 to 17 with health insurance – 47th place
• Average monthly insurance premiums – 37th place
• Percentage of adults without a dental visit in past year – 35th place

To read the full report, visit WalletHub online. Information on the methodology used in the ranking report can be found here.

To reach more about where Florida hospitals stand in national rankings, check out these related stories:

• Top Hospitals in Florida: U.S. News & World Report's Latest Rankings
• Florida's Top 15 Hospitals: Who Made the List
• Tampa Bay Hospitals Graded On Safety

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