{"id":964305,"date":"2026-07-28T09:34:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T09:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/964305\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T09:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T09:34:20","slug":"texas-ranks-as-4th-worst-state-for-healthcare-in-2026-wallethub-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/964305\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas ranks as 4th worst state for healthcare in 2026, WalletHub study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 Texas ranked as the fourth-worst state in the nation for healthcare in a <a href=\"https:\/\/wallethub.com\/edu\/states-with-best-healthcare\/23457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">new WalletHub study<\/a> that compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia on healthcare costs, access and outcomes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/wallethub.com\/edu\/states-with-best-healthcare\/23457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">personal finance website<\/a>, Texas ranked 48th overall, with only three states scoring lower. The report evaluated states using 44 metrics, including insurance coverage, the number of doctors and hospital beds available, and health outcomes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wallethub.com\/edu\/states-with-best-healthcare\/23457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WalletHub<\/a> said Americans now spend an average of nearly $15,500 per year on healthcare, making affordability and access increasingly important when comparing healthcare systems.<\/p>\n<p>Where Texas ranked<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><b>Among the categories highlighted in the report, Texas ranked:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 etvbxt font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>25th for hospital beds per capita<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>46th for physicians per capita<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>43rd for dentists per capita<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>51st (last) for the percentage of insured adults<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>51st (last) for the percentage of insured children<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>34th for the percentage of at-risk adults who had not seen a doctor for a routine visit in the past two years<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>49th for the percentage of adults who had not visited a dentist in the past year<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wallethub.com\/edu\/states-with-best-healthcare\/23457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo<\/a> said the best healthcare systems balance affordability with quality and accessibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cThe best health care in the nation isn\u2019t helpful if it bankrupts the people who try to get it, and cheap health care isn\u2019t worth paying for if it provides subpar or ineffective treatment,\u201d Lupo said.<\/p>\n<p>Which states ranked highest?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><b>According to the report, the top five states for healthcare in 2026 were:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 etvbxt font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>New Hampshire<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Rhode Island<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Minnesota<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Iowa<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Massachusetts<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><b>WalletHub\u2019s rankings were based on three main categories:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 etvbxt font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Healthcare costs<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Access to care<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Health outcomes<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Researchers analyzed data from a variety of sources to score each state before calculating an overall ranking.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 Texas ranked as the fourth-worst state in the nation for healthcare in a new WalletHub study&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":964306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[35],"tags":[387539,210,1141,1142,387538,387537,387540,50,358,67,132,68,218199],"class_list":["post-964305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-best-states-for-healthcare","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-healthcare-costs-us","tag-healthcare-quality-texas","tag-hospital-bed-availability-texas","tag-news","tag-texas","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wallet-hub"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116996922814981695","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=964305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/964306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=964305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=964305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=964305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}