Utah Has Great Health Outcomes But One Of The Worst Access Scores

Utah continues to rank among the nation's better-performing states for health care, although a new national study suggests that residents may face growing challenges accessing medical services even as they enjoy positive health outcomes.

According to WalletHub's annual Best & Worst States for Health Care report, Utah ranks 19th overall in the nation after comparing all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 44 measures of health care cost, access and outcomes.

woman in scrubs holding heart shaped stethoscope

The report reveals a state with notable strengths, but also one significant weakness.

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One of Utah's greatest assets is the overall health of its residents. The Beehive State ranks sixth nationally in health outcomes, reflecting strong performance in measures such as life expectancy, rates of chronic disease, infant and maternal health, hospital readmissions and other indicators of overall well-being. Those results suggest Utahns generally enjoy healthier lives than residents of many other states.

Utah also scores well on affordability. The state ranks 14th in health care costs, indicating that medical care, insurance and related expenses compare favorably with much of the nation. Together, affordable care and excellent health outcomes help offset weaker performance in another important category.

The One Area In Utah Healthcare That Is Alarming

The study's greatest concern for Utah is access to health care. The state ranks 49th in the nation for health care access, placing it near the bottom of the country. The category evaluates factors including the availability of physicians, community health centers, urgent care facilities, insurance coverage and other measures of how easily residents can obtain medical care when they need it.

man in white dress shirt wearing black framed eyeglasses

That ranking mirrors concerns that have been expressed for years in southern Utah, where rapid population growth has outpaced the expansion of the health care workforce. Communities throughout Iron, Washington, Beaver, Kane and Garfield counties continue to attract new residents, increasing demand for family physicians, specialists, mental health providers and other medical professionals. While hospitals and clinics have expanded services, recruiting enough providers to meet the needs of fast-growing communities remains an ongoing challenge.

We have experienced a little bit of this in our personal lives recently. When we were in for our last check ups with our primary care physician, he informed us that these would be our last visits with him. He had reached retirement age and was concluding his practice (how dare he!). While we hope our doctor has some wonderful opportunities in his post career life, we were left with the dilemma as to who would be our new primary care physician.

Mario Tama, Getty Images

That was exacerbated by the fact that none of the other physicians in the clinic we go to were accepting new patients. Well, turns out a new doctor will be starting there and that will be the person we will be seeing now. But, still, there was a bit of concern.

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The WalletHub study suggests Utah has succeeded in delivering high-quality health outcomes at a relatively affordable cost. Looking ahead, one of the state's greatest opportunities will be expanding access to physicians and other health care providers, particularly in rapidly growing regions of southern Utah, so that access can keep pace with the state's continued growth while preserving the strong health outcomes residents already enjoy.