New Scorecard Reveals Wide Differences From State-to-State in Women’s Health and Reproductive Care

A new Commonwealth Fund scorecard comparing state health system performance on women’s health and reproductive care reveals big differences across the U.S., with particularly wide gaps on measures of mortality among reproductive-age women and access to essential health services.

The 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care was completed with analytic support from researchers at the Center for Evidence-base Policy. This comprehensive examination of women’s health care in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, found:

• States with abortion restrictions have fewer maternity care providers.
• Rates of maternal deaths are highest in the Mississippi Delta region, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
• Regional disparities in deaths among women of reproductive age are deepening, with the highest death rates seen in the Southeast.

The report raises concerns over the state of women’s health care and the ripple effects of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Its findings suggest that gaps in women’s health and care could widen further, especially for women of color and those with low incomes who live in states that have restricted access to comprehensive reproductive care. In addition to the report, state fact sheets (available for download from the report page) profile each state’s performance and benchmark data.