According to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, Michigan ranks in the top of the nation when it comes to categories like access, quality, and cost when it comes to our children's health care. The Washington Post did an article, and it included this great quote from Dr. Edward L. Schor, the Commonwealth Fund's vice president for child development and preventive care-
"In this study, we found a four-fold difference in the rates at which children are uninsured," Schor said.
The number of uninsured children varied widely across the states, from a low of 5 percent in Michigan to a high of 20 percent in Texas. States that had the most insured children tended to have the highest scores on quality of care, Schor said.
If all states performed as well as Michigan when it came to providing insurance, then 4.6 million more children would have health insurance, Schor said. "That would cut the rate of uninsured children in half," he said.
Big pat on the back for Michigan - ranked first in the number of children with insurance. Overall, we rank 12th in the country when the 13 performance indicators are added together.
The Commonwealth Fund provides an interactive map to compare the states, and they mention the "distinct regional differences" when it comes to children's health care. The map looks vaguely familiar, with a few exceptions. Perhaps if they would have used red and blue to distinguish the top performers from the rest... well, you catch my drift.
The State of Michigan press release on this story can be found here.