A Commonwealth Fund scorecard ranks Iowa first nationally in health care for children. The authors say millions more American children would be covered by health insurance, have better access to health care services, and avoid developmental delays if all states performed as well as the leading states. Jean Robillard, MD, UI Health Care's vice president for medical affairs, pointed to several factors behind Iowa's ranking, including:

• HAWK-I health insurance program that provides care for children of lower-income families
• Iowa Statewide Perinatal Care Program
• Iowa Neonatal Metabolic Screening Program, a collaborative effort between the Iowa Department of Public Health, the University Hygienic Laboratory and the UI Department of Pediatrics

The report ranked states on 13 indicators for children grouped in categories that include access, quality, costs, equity and healthy outcomes.