Where a woman lives matters to her health. A new state-by-state analysis reveals "mounting disparities" in women's health and reproductive care across the country.
The scorecard from the Commonwealth Fund ranks Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, and Oklahoma among the poorest-performing states overall for women's health care access, quality and outcomes. On the other hand, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut rank at the top.
"Looking across states and comparing their health care systems is an important way of telling us what is and isn't working in American health care," the study's lead author Sara Collins said in a statement. "The scorecard's findings are deeply concerning and underscore the urgent need for federal and state policies to expand women's access to affordable, timely reproductive care and other essential health services, regardless of who they are, what they earn, or where they live."
The report uses 32 measures to evaluate each state on health care access, affordability, quality of care and health outcomes for women. A key measure of health outcomes is the all-cause mortality rate for women of reproductive age, 15 to 44. One of the top causes of mortality for women in this age group is breast and cervical cancer.
The report shows that women are more likely to die from cancer in the Southeast than in any other region. However, Delaware had the highest number of deaths from breast and cervical cancer per 100,000 female residents in 2022, the dataset used for the study, at 27.8. By comparison, Massachusetts had the fewest number of deaths per 100,000 female residents at 15.3. The national average was 20.9 deaths.
"Deaths from breast and cervical cancer are considered preventable and treatable with timely screening and health care," the report noted, adding that northeastern states have the highest screening rates and lowest mortality rates, while southern states tend to have higher-than-average mortality and lower screening rates.
More than 40,000 women will die from breast cancer this year, while over 13,000 will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, according to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
Here are the states where women are most likely to die of cancer, along with the number of breast and cervical cancer deaths per 100,000 females:
1. Massachusetts - 15.3
2. Nebraska - 16.4
3. New Hampshire - 16.5
4. Rhode Island 16.5
5. Minnesota - 17.2
6. New York - 17.3
7. Alaska - 17.6
8. Connecticut - 17.8
9. North Dakota - 17.8
10. Montana - 18.2
11. Washington - 18.5
12. South Dakota - 18.6
13. Wisconsin - 18.8
14. Vermont - 19.0
15. Iowa - 19.1
16. Colorado - 19.5
17. Maine - 19.8
18. New Jersey - 19.9
19. Hawaii - 20.1
20. New Mexico - 20.2
21. Oregon - 20.2
22. California - 20.7
23. North Carolina - 20.8
24. Ohio - 20.8
25. Virginia - 21.0
26. Kansas - 21.1
27. Arizona - 21.2
28. Florida - 21.3
29. Maryland - 21.3
30. Pennsylvania - 21.4
31. Michigan - 21.5
32. Texas - 21.6
33. Illinois - 21.7
34. Wyoming - 21.8
35. Idaho - 22.1
36. Utah - 22.4
37. Georgia - 22.6
38. South Carolina - 23.1
39. Indiana - 23.2
40. Oklahoma - 23.2
41. Tennessee - 23.2
42. Missouri - 23.3
43. Nevada - 23.4
44. Alabama - 23.5
45. Louisiana - 23.9
46. Arkansas - 24.0
47. West Virginia - 24.0
48. Kentucky - 24.8
49. Washington, D.C. - 25.0
50. Mississippi - 27.3
51. Delaware - 27.8