TEXAS, USA — Texas is the second worst state in the U.S. for women with health issues, according to newly released findings from the Commonweath Fund, a foundation that researches health care issues.
The Lone Star state was ranked behind only Mississippi, according to the foundation’s 2024 scorecard on women’s health and reproductive healthcare. The Commonwealth Fund has ranked states’ healthcare coverage since 2006. This is the first year the foundation has published a state scorecard tracking trends in women’s health, though.
The data came from sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and evaluated states on 32 metrics across three areas: health outcomes; health care quality and prevention; and coverage, access and affordability.
Texas ranked last in the country on healthcare coverage, access and affordability for women, according to the fund. Uninsured rates for women of reproductive age (15-44) ranged from a low of 2.6% in Massachusetts to a high of 22% in Texas. The national average is 10%, according to the foundation.
“The health of women in the United States is in a perilous place. Deaths from preventable causes are on the rise and deep inequities persist, leading to stark racial differences in maternal mortality and deaths from breast and cervical cancers. Despite a small rebound in women’s life expectancy in 2022, it remains at its lowest since 2006,” the foundation said in an overview of their findings on their website. “These troubling health trends are occurring while women are experiencing the consequences of state policy choices and judicial decisions that limit their access to the full range of health services and reproductive care.”
Texas performed best on all cause mortality rate per 100,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 (Texas had a rate of 99 compared to the national rate of 110.3), infant mortality per 1,000 live births (Texas had a rate of 5.3 compared to the national average of 5.4), and women with up-to-date cervical cancer screening (Texas ranked 27 out of 51).
Texas performed worst on abortion clinics per 100,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 (The national rate is 1.5 and in Texas, it’s zero.), women between the ages of 18 and 44 who reported going without care because of cost in the last year (Texas had a rate of 27% and the national average was 17%).
Here are the states with the best rankings overall
1. Massachusetts
2. Vermont
3. Rhode Island
4. Connecticut
5. New Hampshire
Here are the states with the worst rankings overall
47. Arkansas
48. Oklahoma
49. West Virginia
50. Texas
51. Mississippi
For more information, visit the report on Commonwealth Fund’s website.