Minnesota Ranks No. 1 In America For Health Care, Finance Website Says

MINNESOTA — Minnesota is the nation’s best state for health care, according to a new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub.

The ranking considered 44 measures of cost, accessibility and outcomes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with WalletHub noting the average American spends an estimated almost $13,500 annually on personal health care, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“Health care has two crucial components, cost and quality,” WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe said, according to the website. “Therefore, the best states for health care are those that make high-quality care affordable, on top of providing many options for doctors and making insurance easily accessible.”

The metrics were graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 being the best. A state’s overall score was determined by its weighted average across metrics.

Minnesota was No. 1 on the list with a total score of 67.38. The state ranked second for cost, sixth for access and 11th for outcomes.

Minnesota has the highest number of convenient care clinics per capita, fourth-lowest average out-of-pocket medical spending and sixth-lowest average monthly insurance premium, according to WalletHub. The state also has the sixth-best public hospital system and residents have the fifth-highest life exepctancy, according to the website, which noted that it only takes about 16 minutes for the average patient to be seen at an emergency room in Minnesota.

Rhode Island came in second in the ranking with a total score of 67 and South Dakota was third, scoring 65.47. Mississippi ranked last with a score of 46.01.

Read more from WalletHub.