Wisconsin not just Top 10 again, but No. 1 in health care

State hasn’t been off Top 10 since report started in 2007 

When it comes to overall health care, Wisconsin is No. 1.

That ranking, coming from the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s yearly report. The badger state was ranked third last year and has been in the top 10 every year since the report started in 2007.

 “It shows the consistency of care, not just one year you hop up and you’re good, then you fall back out of the top 10,” Gundersen Health System of La Crosse CEO Scott Rathgaber said. “That wouldn’t give me much comfort if I were a patient.”

Despite the consistency to stay near the top, Rathgaber hopes to get to a place where they’re needed less and less.

“We’re really looking at trying to get into our communities and improve the health of communities, to the point where health has improved and maybe they even need our services less,” he said.

The report shows Wisconsin still must improve in health care equity, including care for low income people and minorities.

The agency used 130 measurements to grade each state. Iowa comes in sixth in 2017, while Minnesota is ranked 11th.