Figure 3. State Health System Performance, 2025
Note: To access state profiles, select “State Profiles (ZIP)” in the downloads section on the report’s main page. For this report, the Plains states are defined as Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Each domain is scored using multiple indicators that determine a state’s performance relative to others. Access and Affordability measures rates of insurance coverage, cost-related barriers to care, medical debt, and out-of-pocket burden. Prevention and Treatment measures use of preventive services, mental health care, and quality of care across settings. Avoidable Hospital Use and Cost measures preventable visits, readmissions, per-person spending, and the share of spending on primary care. Healthy Lives measures health outcomes such as premature death, infant mortality, and preventable conditions. Income Disparity is the difference in performance on selected indicators between the state’s lower-income and higher-income populations. Racial Health Equity is the difference in performance on selected indicators across racial and ethnic groups.
Source: Radley, D., Kolb, K., and Collins, S.R. (2025). 2025 Scorecard on State Health System Performance.