A recent study shows that for health care coverage, access and affordability for women, Florida ranks 48 out of 50 states and Washington, D.C. For prenatal care, Florida comes in last, 51st.
The 2024 State Scorecard on Women's Health and Reproductive Care was conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan foundation that promotes a high-performing health care system.
THE STUDY: 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care
“Some of the areas where, where we see the biggest challenges in Florida are around health care coverage and access and health care affordability,” said David Radley, one of the study's authors and a senior scientist with the nonprofit fund who specializes in health system performance.
Part of the problem in Florida is a lack of health insurance.
For “14% of women, about 1 in 7 working-age women in the state don’t have health insurance coverage,” he said.
That’s higher than in almost any other state, Radley said.
About a quarter of Florida women age 18 to 44 say they skipped getting care because they couldn’t afford it. Another 29% in that age group say they don’t have a usual source of care — a general practitioner or family doctor— which means they would probably have to go to urgent care or an emergency room.
Another factor is the lack of Medicaid expansion in Florida, Radley said.
When the federal government offered to open up Medicaid to include residents with a slightly higher income, Florida turned down that coverage, leaving many people uninsured.
What might help?
“Anything that, enhances insurance coverage of Florida would be a huge win for women in Florida. Florida could consider expanding its Medicaid program,” Radley said.
In turning down Medicaid expansion, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature's Republican leadership cite an expected increase in enrollment, costs and strain on the health care system.
The report measured each state using 32 metrics across three areas: health outcomes; health care quality and prevention; and coverage, access and affordability.
Massachusetts was the best-performing health system for women overall, ranking among the top states on each of the three metrics. The lowest-ranked overall was Mississippi.
The highest-ranked states are concentrated in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the northern Midwest. The lowest-ranked states fan out across the Southeast and Southwest.
Copyright 2024 WGCU
