National study names Mississippi the worst state overall for its health system

Mississippi was in the bottom 2 in healthy behaviors, deaths from preventable causes, and maternal health. The data collected was mostly from 2021, and authors of the study say that impacts from COVID-19 are still apparent.

Dr. Laurie Zephyrin is senior vice president for Advancing Health Equity at the Commonwealth Fund and a co-author of the report. She says bridging equity gaps will need cooperation from state officials.

"Health is beyond the four walls of the health care system," she said. "We understand the impacts of the drivers of health and really focusing on increasing economic and social supports for children and women is going to be really important, particularly extending paid family leave, unemployment compensation, childcare and affordable housing assistance."

The southeastern region as a whole did not perform well in the study, with Virginia being the only state landing in the top half of the rankings. Dr. Sara Collins is the Commonwealth Fund's vice president for health care coverage and a co-author of the report. She says that many southern states could improve their performance with policy change.

Expanding their Medicaid programs would be the first step towards improving their health system performance," she said. 

Collins also says the ending of federal COVID-19 policies will continue to affect health outcomes.