The Commonwealth Fund’s latest 2024 Scorecard on State Health System Performance provides a critical assessment of health care access, quality, and outcomes for women across the United States, painting a sobering post-pandemic picture. During a recent webinar unveiling the findings, Commonwealth Fund President Joseph Betancourt, M.D., M.P.H., highlighted significant setbacks in life expectancy, avoidable deaths, and highlighted critical issues in women’s health, mental health, and substance use disorders.
The report evaluates 58 health care indicators, spotlighting substantial gaps in reproductive care, women’s health, and mental health services. States like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont received top rankings for their overall health system performance, whereas Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, and Mississippi ranked lowest.
Sara R. Collins, Senior Scholar at the Commonwealth Fund, emphasized the importance of comparing states across demographics to grasp the effectiveness of American health care. Visual aids such as maps are instrumental in illustrating these disparities—highlighting that northeastern states lead in health care performance, contrasting sharply with southern states.
Beyond statistics, journalists play a crucial role in elucidating narratives that underscore these disparities and highlight initiatives addressing them. For instance, the report reveals alarming increases in maternal mortality rates among American Indian and Alaska Native women, prompting exploration into systemic issues and potential policy remedies.
Access to mental health care is another critical area of concern. Nationally, 60% of adolescents facing major depressive episodes were unable to access necessary treatment, with South Carolina exhibiting particularly high rates nearing 80%. Investigating underlying causes and effective initiatives, like pediatric mental health urgent care centers, provides deeper insights.
Medical debt emerges as a pressing economic burden, notably prevalent in southern states like West Virginia, where nearly a quarter of residents grapple with it. Exploring personal stories and broader economic impacts can shed light on this pervasive issue.
Reproductive health access remains fragmented across states, with restrictive policies exacerbating disparities for women of color and those with low incomes. Efforts to expand access in these regions are crucial to narrowing these gaps, as emphasized by Dr. Laurie C. Zephyrin, Commonwealth Fund’s senior vice president for Advancing Health Equity.
Moreover, the report underscores significant disparities in prenatal care access, revealing stark contrasts between states like Vermont, where prenatal care is widespread, and Texas and Florida, where many women lack early prenatal care.
In response, the report advocates for policy strategies including improving addiction treatment accessibility, enhancing primary care investments, ensuring affordable coverage, extending postpartum Medicaid coverage, and supporting comprehensive reproductive care policies.
By delving into these issues and amplifying voices affected by disparities, journalists can foster informed public discourse and advocate for policies that promote equitable health care access and outcomes for women across America.
