Healthcare Improving In Many US Communities, Study Suggests.

reports the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, which researched healthcare conditions in 306 communities across the US, released a study Thursday finding that health systems “improved more than they worsened” between 2011 and 2014. Key factors included increased insurance coverage stemming from the Affordable Care Act as well as “doctors and other providers scoring better on quality and efficiency measures.” The study ranked local areas using 33 categories grouped under four headings: “access and affordability; prevention and treatment; avoidable hospital use and cost; and health indicators such as the death rates from certain cancers, adult obesity and infant mortality.” While nearly all communities improved, those in the upper Midwest and New England “fared better than those in the South.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/07/14/health-care-has-improved-study-finds-but-the-changes-are-small/