The cost and quality of health care, as well as access to care and health outcomes, continue to vary widely among states, according to the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System's second state scorecard report. The states that led in the 2007 state scorecard generally continued to lead, often setting new benchmarks and widening the gap between leading and lagging states. Across states, health insurance coverage for adults declined, costs rose, and quality improved in areas where outcomes were reported to the public.
Health insurance coverage for adults declined in a majority of states since the first state scorecard was released in 2007. In contrast, most states made gains in health coverage for children due to federal and state support for the Children's Health Insurance Program. In addition, national efforts to publicly report performance and improve care have led to dramatic improvements in some measures of quality of care in hospitals and nursing homes, demonstrating the impact federal action and collaborative improvement efforts can have on state healthcare systems, the report found.
