Iowa ranked #1 in the Scorecard on Child Health, by the Commonwealth Fund.  The State Scorecard on Child Health System Performance examines states' performance on 20 key indicators of children's health care access, affordability of care, prevention and treatment, the potential to lead healthy lives, and health system equity.

 "Blank Children's Hospital and UnityPoint Health have played a substantial part in providing the care to Iowa's children," said Dr. Ken Cheyne, Medical Director, Blank Children's Hospital.  "We have increased the access to care, brought specialists once not available in Iowa and provided care for all children regardless of insurance status."

 Children living in the five top-ranked states - Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire - are more likely to be insured and to receive recommended medical and dental check-ups than children living in poorer-performing states such as New Mexico, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Mississippi or Nevada.

 The analysis finds wide variation in performance across states. If all states achieved benchmark performance levels, 5 million more children would be insured, 10 million more would receive at least one medical and dental preventive care visit annually, and nearly 9 million more would have a medical home.

 The findings demonstrate that federal and state policy actions maintained and, in some cases, expanded children's insurance coverage during the recent recession, even as many parents lost coverage. The report also highlights the need for initiatives specifically focused on improving health system performance for children. The report includes state-by-state insurance coverage projections for children once relevant provisions of the Affordable Health Act are implemented.

 For more information about Blank Children's Hospital visit www.blankchildrens.org.