Rhode Island Among Top 3 States In U.S. For Children's Health Care: Report

RHODE ISLAND — Choosing Rhode Island as a place to raise children just got easier and less anxiety-inducing, with the Ocean State being named the 3rd best state in the U.S. for children's health care, according to a recently-released study from WalletHub.

To determine which states offer the most cost-effective and highest-quality health care for children, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 33 key metrics.

Key data examined included the share of children aged 0 to 17 in excellent or very good health, pediatricians and family doctors per capita. Other factors like vaccination and obesity rates were also considered.

"As a parent and someone working in public health, I think important steps include: routine preventive health care (e.g., annual well-checks and vaccinations) — including dental care, regular physical activity, good nutrition, limited screen time, regular school attendance, and daily engagement with a parent or guardian (e.g., playtime, sharing a meal)," Derek Brown, a health policy professor at Washington University in Missouri, said.

Rhode Island's best individual rankings included having the fourth-lowest percentage of children with unaffordable medical bills and the fifth-lowest percentage of children without health insurance.

See a full list of Rhode Island's child health care rankings below:

• No. 10 — Percent of children in excellent/very good health
• No. 5 — Percent of uninsured children
• No. 11 — Infant death rate
• No. 4 — Percent of children with unaffordable medical bills
• No. 4 — Pediatricians and family doctors per capita
• No. 6 — Percent of obese children
• No. 8 — Percent of children with excellent/very good teeth
• No. 17 — Percent of children 19 to 35 months old with all recommended vaccines.

See the full WalletHub report on the best and worst states for children's health care here.