(The Center Square) – Washington state cracked the top 10 in terms of best health care systems in the nation, coming in at No. 8 according to research put out by the Social Security Resource Center, a nongovernmental organization providing information on government benefits and services.
SSRC looked at all 50 states and ranked them on health care spending, number of hospital visits per million inhabitants, Logistic Performance Index health care score, and physicians per 10,000 inhabitants.
According to the results of the research, the Evergreen State spends $8,072 per capita on health care and has 60 hospitals. Washington has 1,184 patients to every physician, 1,198 patients to every dentist, and 251 patients to every mental health provider.
That translates into an overall health care score of 7.19 out of a possible 10.
Washington’s neighbor to the south, Oregon, did even better, coming in fourth place on SSRC’s list.
Oregon spends $9,551 per capita on health care and has 36 hospitals. Oregon has 1,062 patients to every physician, 1,209 patients to every dentist, and 181 patients to every mental health provider.
That translates into an overall health care score of 7.79.
The 10 best states in the U.S. for health care:
1. Massachusetts
2. California
3. New York
4. Oregon
5. Colorado
6. New Jersey
7. Maine
8. Washington
9. Connecticut
10. Illinois
The 10 worst states in the U.S. for health care:
50. Alabama
49. Arkansas
48. Delaware
47. Tennessee
46. Georgia
45. Mississippi
44. South Carolina
43. South Dakota
42. Arizona
41. North Dakota
As part of its research, SSRC also put out a list of the best countries for health care. The U.S., despite spending more per capita on health care than any other nation – $10,949 – ranked a disappointing No. 24 on the list, scoring 3.87 on a 10-point scale.