This southern state is battling alarming rates of deaths from cancer, diabetes and other health problems as millions of residents lack basic health insurance and are unable to get a doctor’s appointment.
Mississippians often say they are languishing in a “health crisis.”
These issues came to a head Monday when the Magnolia State was ranked as having the worst health care system in the country.
WalletHub researchers found that Mississippi has an alarmingly low number of people with health insurance and one of the few dental clinics in the country.
Residents suffer from the highest rates of stroke, heart disease and infant mortality in the country, they found.
Idenia Sturdevant, who suffers from diabetes, kidney failure and high blood pressure, is one of many Mississippi residents who suffer from the state’s long-standing health problems.
Taborian Hospital sits in ruins on Mound Bayou in the Mississippi Delta, where poverty and unemployment drive some of the highest rates of diabetes, obesity and infant mortality.
Alabama, West Virginia, Georgia and Oklahoma round out the top five worst health systems.
Those seeking better care should head to Minnesota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Iowa or New Hampshire, the researchers said.
Cassandra Happe says tax season is tough
They analyzed the cost of health care in each state, how easy it was to get an appointment, and the overall health of their population.
They used data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. Census Bureau and dozens of other government and private groups.
Cassandra Happe, who led the research, said top performers managed to strike a balance between cost and quality.
“The best health care in the country is of no use if it bankrupts those who try to get it,” Happe said.
“And it’s not worth paying for cheap health care if it provides poor or ineffective treatment.”
Mississippi’s poor health care has long been a concern for residents.
Veteran journalist Peter Keith wrote in May that the state was in a “life or death” crisis.
Lawmakers, he said, should help cover insurance costs so people can access early health care before they become chronically ill.
Shortly afterward, efforts to add 200,000 more residents to the Medicaid rolls failed and died in the Republican-led legislature.
A team of nurses and doctors care for a patient at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota, which is ranked as having the best health care system in the country.
Advocates for the change faced opposition from Gov. Tate Reeves, who refers to Medicaid as “welfare,” and others.
This month, Magnolia Tribune columnist Sid Salter warned that staff shortages in rural Mississippi meant seeing a caregiver would become more difficult in the coming years.
This was especially worrying for Baby Boomers, who were getting sick but couldn’t find a doctor, Salter said.
The nonprofit Commonwealth Fund found this month that Mississippi ranks very low in women’s health.
They found that more women die in childbirth in Mississippi than anywhere else in the United States.
They also have the highest rates of deaths from cervical and breast cancer in the country.
Meanwhile, the state’s health system is struggling with pressures to upgrade equipment and store patient data amid a revenue shortfall.
The state’s Singing River Health System, a major provider on the Gulf Coast, disclosed in May that the personal data of about 900,000 patients had been stolen in a ransomware attack in 2023.
Overall, the researchers found that Southern states had the worst health care systems in the country.
Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, West Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida ranked in the bottom 10.
States in the Northeast, Midwest and Mountain West generally scored highest on the chart.
Minnesota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Utah, Vermont and Maine ranked in the top 10.
Minnesota was praised for having many clinics that offer quality care at the right price.
As a result, Minnesotans have one of the longest life expectancies in the U.S. and are typically seen by caregivers in an emergency room within 16 minutes.
Rhode Island came in second thanks to its high childhood vaccination rates, large number of doctors and the lowest average out-of-pocket medical costs in the country.
“The best states for health care are those that make high-quality care affordable, in addition to providing many doctor choices and making insurance easily accessible,” Happe added.