Report: Mississippi ranks worst in overall women's health care

Mississippi ranks last in the nation in women’s health and reproductive care outcomes, according to a 2024 scorecard released Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan foundation focused on health care policy.

According to the 2024 report, Mississippi ranked 51 out of 51 in overall health care performance, 43 out of 51 in health coverage, access and affordability, and 50 out of 51 in health care quality and prevention.

Researchers noted the state's low ranking is caused by compounding factors such as strict abortion bans , the lack of Medicaid expansion and even challenges to accessing care most notably in the Mississippi Delta .

The report, which evaluated states on 32 specific metrics, found that areas in the southern half of the nation scored poorest. The study found Mississippi, which ranked at the bottom, was led by Texas at 50th, Oklahoma at 49th, Nevada at 48th and Arkansas at 47th.

Massachusetts ranked first as “the best-performing health system for women overall,” with Vermont in second, Rhode Island in third, Connecticut in fourth and New Hampshire in fifth.

“This is the very first time we at the Fund have created a scorecard exclusively focused on states’ performance in reproductive care and women’s health,” said Dr. Joseph Betancourt, Commonwealth Fund president, during a Wednesday media briefing.

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“While some states undoubtedly are championing women’s continued access to vital health and reproductive services, many others are failing to ensure that women can get and afford the health care they need,” Betancourt said. “This failure is having a disproportionate impact on women of color and women with low incomes. My hope is that policymakers can use these findings to identify and address gaps in care, guaranteeing that all women across the United States can live healthy lives with access to quality, affordable care — no matter where they live or what their background is.”

The Commonwealth Fund experts noted that Mississippi tends to consistently have low performance rankings in comparison to other states on various health-care system performance measures, even in previous reports . The experts said moving the state's health metrics in a positive direction would be "very difficult" to do without changing divisive policies.

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, sparking both opposition and praise in Mississippi — where the successful abortion rights challenge first started . Researchers suggested that ruling had a widespread impact on what services are offered to women and how pregnant women can access care in the state.

According to the study, many experts said they were "concerned" that abortion bans or limitations "may inadvertently reduce the number of providers offering maternity care, owing to increased risk of legal action that practices face."

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The report also found Mississippi is one of 10 states that has yet to expand Medicaid since the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, became an option for states. The Legislature came close to passing a bill earlier this year that would have expanded Medicaid coverage, under the decade-old act, providing about 200,000 working poor Mississippians health care. The bill died in the final days of the session.

“There are things delivery systems can do despite the policy choices Mississippi has made, but it is hard to do without the additional, in large part, resources — including Medicaid, which would bring an influx of resources into the state were it to expand,” said Sara Collins, senior scholar and vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, during the Wednesday briefing.

What did Mississippi perform worst on, according to the 2024 report?

• Maternal mortality rate: 44.6 per 100,000 live births (Ranked 42 out of 43)
• Infant mortality rate: 9.4 per 1,000 live births (Ranked 51 out of 51)
• Breast and cervical cancer deaths rate: 27.3 per 100,000 female population (Ranked: 50 out of 51)
• Rate of maternity care providers (MDs, DOs, certified nurse midwives practicing in Obstetrics and Gynecology): 60.4 per 100,000 women ages 15-44 (Ranked 46 out of 51)
• Percent of women with a recent live birth with self-reported postpartum depressive symptoms: 21% (Ranked 33 out of 33)
• Percent of women with a recent live birth who experienced intimate partner violence before and/or during pregnancy: 5.1% (Ranked 31 out of 33)
• Percent of women ages 19–64 without health insurance coverage: 14% (Ranked 46 out of 51)
• Percent of women ages 18–44 who went without care because of cost: 20% (Ranked 44 out of 51)

What did Mississippi perform best on, according to the 2024 report?

• Percent of women ages 18–64 who have ever had an HIV or AIDS test: 46% (Ranked 14 out of 51)
• Percent of uninsured women, during pregnancy: 1.6% (Ranked 14 out of 33)
• Percent of women ages 18–44 without a routine checkup in the past two years: 12% (Ranked: 16 out of 51)

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Report: Mississippi ranks worst in overall women's health care