One of the most pressing issues in healthcare equity is access, and the nation's healthcare system has work to do to ensure residents across all 50 states can efficiently receive the care they need. Primary care, the integral foundation of the U.S. healthcare system, is a particularly important access point to consider, as patients with limited access to primary care often experience negative health outcomes because of it.
The average number of primary care physicians per 100,000 people in the U.S. is 159.6, according to the United Health Foundation's 2019 "America's Health Rankings" report. Rhode Island has the country's highest primary care physician supply and Idaho has the lowest, the same two bookends reported the year before.
The United Health Foundation claims abundant access to primary care physicians often leads to longer life spans and better patient outcomes. This is a factor it uses to calculate its annual "America's Health Rankings" report, the longest-standing annual assessment of Americans' health on a state-by-state basis.
Here are the state-by-state rankings UHF used to calculate states' 2019 overall health scores, the most recent available. Values reflect the number of active primary care physicians per 100,000 population. Primary care in this context includes general practice, family practice, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, geriatrics, and internal medicine. The complete report can be accessed here.
- Rhode Island — 274.9
- Massachusetts — 247.4
- New York — 230.7
- Connecticut — 220
- Pennsylvania — 216.3
- Michigan — 205.2
- Maine — 199.1
- Hawaii — 193.9
- Maryland — 192.1
- Illinois — 190
- Vermont — 188.7
- New Jersey — 181
- Ohio — 178.2
- West Virginia — 172.8
- Missouri — 171.5
- Minnesota — 169.5
- Delaware — 166.2
- New Hampshire — 162.9
- Nebraska — 158.2
- North Dakota — 154.9
- Wisconsin — 152.4
- Iowa — 152.2
- Washington — 150
- Virginia — 148.1
- Oregon — 147.4
- New Mexico — 144.7
- Colorado — 143.4
- California — 141.4
- Alaska — 141.2
- Louisiana — 139.7
- Tennessee — 139.1
- Kansas — 138.1
- North Carolina — 134.4
- South Dakota — 131.4
- Florida — 131.3
- South Carolina — 131.3
- Oklahoma — 131.2
- Indiana — 127.2
- Kentucky — 127
- Arizona — 125.8
- Georgia — 123.9
- Alabama — 122.8
- Arkansas — 122.3
- Montana — 116
- Texas — 113.5
- Wyoming — 111
- Mississippi — 110.8
- Nevada — 107.4
- Utah — 102
- Idaho — 96.6