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    Best and Worst States for Health Care in 2026: Rankings by Cost, Outcomes and Access
    Data

    Best and Worst States for Health Care in 2026: Rankings by Cost, Outcomes and Access


    MoneyGeek evaluated all 50 states and Washington, D.C., across 14 metrics measuring health outcomes, costs and access to care. The 2026 rankings show which state systems perform well and which fall behind.

    Hawaii ranks first overall, driven by the nation’s best outcomes and strong cost performance.
    Alaska ranks last with some of the highest premiums in the country, limited access and one of the lowest cost performance scores, according to MoneyGeek’s analysis.

    Data sources: CDC WONDER, CDC BRFSS, KFF, BEA, HRSA, Commonwealth Fund, MoneyGeek analysis (2026 ACA premiums)

    Full analysis: https://www.moneygeek.com/resources/top-states-health-care/

    Posted by mark-fitzbuzztrick

    View 10 Comments

    10 Comments

    1. ListerfiendLurks on

      Mississippi is at the bottom of every list in the US, does it have anything going for it at all?

    3. libertarianinus on

      Typically, people who live on islands tend to live longer due too fresh fruits, fish and fresh air.

    4. hi_imjoey on

      I know the visualizations in the attached report are only a single geographic heat map followed by a bunch of different tables, but I still think this is one of the most fitting reports shared in this sub. All data shared is very easy to ingest, and there is a lot of transparency in how the data was obtained used to formulate the results.

      I would give this report the most-informative-for-the-least-visualized-data award, if such an award existed.

    6. tweezabella on

      Yeah we live in VT. My husband is self employed so we peeked at the open state enrollment for healthcare. The cheapest family plan was $2,700 a month. Not sure how anyone affords that. Thankfully I can get insurance through my work.

    7. coltaaan on

      Wow, I never uninsured rates were bad, but 16% in Texas is wild!

      Also, the difference in infant mortality rates are crazy.

      Like we’re the wealthiest nation in the world, there shouldn’t be such stark differences across the country.

    8. qxrt on

      Genetics/race seems like it would be a huge confounding factor. Hawaii has the highest proportion of asians, who have a higher life expectancy than other races. Seems like a huge confounding factor to not account for this when trying to evaluate healthcare outcomes and overall life expectancy. 

    10. karlophonic on

      I wish reports like that would handle California as multiple states. Due to its size it invariably lands at the median. If I’m not mistaken, there’s 13 counties that are more populated than Wyoming.