This Is Where Delaware’s Health Care System Ranks in the US

The U.S. health care system faced new levels of scrutiny in the past year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There were shortages of medical masks, ICU beds, as well as nurses. But even before the pandemic, some states were much better equipped to handle both everyday health needs — and the pandemic — than others.

There are many states in which residents are much more likely to lack health care insurance. In many of these states, there are also fewer medical professionals relative to the population, which can hinder access to care, as well as underfunded medical hospitals.

The health care system in Delaware ranks as the 24th worst in the country.

Though Delaware’s health care system ranks worse than that of 26 other states, it has several positive aspects as well. For example, a relatively low share of its population is uninsured, at 6.6%, and its residents are among the most likely to have received preventive medical care like flu shots and mammograms.

However, the state’s medical care infrastructure has some gaps. Hospital funding in Delaware is among the lowest in the nation, at just $82 per capita. This is less than a third of the average per capita hospital spending nationwide of $294. Delaware also has fewer hospital beds per capita than most other states, at 2.2 beds per 1,000 residents.

To identify the states with the worst health care systems, 24/7 Wall St. constructed an index comprising six health measures for each state: the share of residents without health insurance, state spending on health care as well as on hospitals per capita, and the number of dentists, doctors, and mental health providers per 100,000 people. Each of these measures was weighted equally in the index. These are the 25 states with the worst health care system

RankStateUninsured rateAdults in poor or fair healthPremium contribution, single coverageState spending on health care per capita25Wyoming12.3%15.3%$96.25$51324Delaware6.6%16.3%$127.92$48023Montana8.3%14.1%$93.50$16722Missouri10.0%19.5%$109.83$33221Nebraska8.3%13.8%$112.58$15120Illinois7.4%15.9%$115.17$9719Kentucky6.4%21.8%$121.08$9818North Dakota6.9%13.6%$98.50$18817South Carolina10.8%17.8%$111.58$24716North Carolina11.3%18.0%$115.92$16415West Virginia6.7%23.6%$113.08$16014Oklahoma14.3%20.9%$115.25$22313South Dakota10.2%13.4%$120.17$17812Louisiana8.9%21.4%$122.08$10111Alabama9.7%21.4%$132.75$11710Arkansas9.1%23.3%$104.42$589Florida13.2%19.5%$120.17$2258Idaho10.8%15.1%$73.08$1047Tennessee10.1%21.2%$119.25$1116Indiana8.7%18.2%$121.67$905Nevada11.4%19.1%$104.58$934Mississippi13.0%22.1%$109.08$1333Arizona11.3%18.6%$126.92$812Georgia13.4%18.4%$108.25$1191Texas18.4%18.7%$112.92$109

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