MA Is No. 2 In Health Care: Here's Why

The cost of health care in Massachusetts still isn't anything to get excited about, but a recent study said thanks to top-notch access and overall effectiveness, the Bay State ranks among the very best in America at health care.

A WalletHub study released Monday said Massachusetts is the second-best state in the country for health care. The personal finance company ranked all 50 states and D.C. across 40 metrics, and even though the state ranked just 31st in cost, it ranked second in both access and outcome. You can see WalletHub's methodology here.

Despite the poor showing in affordability, one thing that helped was having the lowest average monthly insurance premiums in the United States. Massachusetts also has the second-most physicians per capita, behind only D.C., and the second-most dentists per capita, trailing Hawaii.

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Accessibility was a key component in Massachusetts' rank: no other state had a higher percentage of adults aged 18-64 or children aged 0-17 that were insured. Massachusetts also had the third-lowest infant mortality rate and the fifth-lowest percentage of adults with no dental visits over the past year.

The Northeast, particularly New England, ranked very well in the WalletHub study. Vermont was No. 1, New Hampshire 3, and Rhode Island 6. Connecticut and Maine came in at 11 and 12, respectively. The Southeast had the worst showing, with Louisiana finishing last.

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