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Explore national- and state-level data for hundreds of health, environmental and socioeconomic measures, including background information about each measure. Use features on this page to find measures; view subpopulations, trends and rankings; and download and share content.
Wisconsin Value:
Discharges following hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (PQI 90) per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries ages 65-74 enrolled in the fee-for-service program
Wisconsin Rank:
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Discharges following hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (PQI 90) per 100,000 female Medicare beneficiaries ages 65-74 enrolled in the fee-for-service program
730 - 1,108
1,109 - 1,246
1,247 - 1,483
1,484 - 1,699
1,700 - 2,654
US Value: 1,477
Top State(s): Colorado: 766
Bottom State(s): West Virginia: 2,470
Definition: Discharges following hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (PQI 90) per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries ages 65-74 enrolled in the fee-for-service program
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Minority Health, Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool, 2023
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Minority Health, Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2026.
Some hospital admissions related to chronic conditions or acute illnesses are avoidable through adequate management and treatment in outpatient settings. Preventable hospitalizations indicate an overuse of the hospital as a primary source of routine care. It provides insight into issues with accessibility and quality of outpatient primary care services. Patients age 65 and older have the highest rate of preventable hospitalizations.
Preventable hospitalizations place financial burdens on patients, insurance providers and hospitals. In 2017, preventable hospitalizations cost the United States an estimated $33.7 billion, the majority for chronic conditions such as heart failure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of preventable hospitalizations is higher among:
Additional research has found that older adults who live in low-income neighborhoods and older adults with dementia are also disproportionately affected by preventable hospitalizations.
Some hospitalizations may be prevented through adequate management and treatment in outpatient settings. For older adults, continuous care with a physician is associated with fewer preventable hospitalizations. Strategies that target populations at high risk of hospitalization — such as older adults, patients taking various medications and those with multiple conditions or functional impairments — are effective at reducing the risk of 30-day hospital readmission.
A 2025 study found that Medicare enrollees who had access to coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before age 65 had fewer hospital visits per year than older adults who were not covered by the ACA in their younger years. Access to affordable health care in midlife helped to reduce hospitalizations and health complications later.
There are individual steps older adults can take to stay healthy, including the following:
Healthy People 2030 has an objective to reduce the proportion of preventable hospitalizations in older adults with dementia.
Anderson, Timothy S., Edward R. Marcantonio, Ellen P. McCarthy, and Shoshana J. Herzig. “National Trends in Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations of Older Adults with Dementia.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 68, no. 10 (June 2020): 2240–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16636.
Kringos, Dionne S., Wienke G. W. Boerma, Allen Hutchinson, Jouke van der Zee, and Peter P. Groenewegen. “The Breadth of Primary Care: A Systematic Literature Review of Its Core Dimensions.” BMC Health Services Research 10, no. 1 (December 2010): 65. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-10-65.
Kripalani, Sunil, Cecelia N. Theobald, Beth Anctil, and Eduard E. Vasilevskis. “Reducing Hospital Readmission Rates: Current Strategies and Future Directions.” Annual Review of Medicine 65, no. 1 (January 14, 2014): 471–85. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-022613-090415.
Mahmoudi, Elham, Neil Kamdar, Allison Furgal, Ananda Sen, Phillip Zazove, and Julie Bynum. “Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations Among Older Adults: 2010-2014.” The Annals of Family Medicine 18, no. 6 (November 2020): 511–19. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2605.
McDermott, Kimberly W., and H. Joanna Jiang. Characteristics and Costs of Potentially Preventable Inpatient Stays, 2017. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, HCUP Statistical Brief #259. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, June 2020. https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb259-Potentially-Preventable-Hospitalizations-2017.jsp.
Moy, Ernest, Eva Chang, and Marguerite Barrett. “Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations - United States, 2001-2009.” MMWR Supplements 62, no. 3 (November 22, 2013): 139–43. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6203a23.htm.
Nyweide, David J., Denise L. Anthony, Julie P. W. Bynum, Robert L. Strawderman, William B. Weeks, Lawrence P. Casalino, and Elliott S. Fisher. “Continuity of Care and the Risk of Preventable Hospitalization in Older Adults.” JAMA Internal Medicine 173, no. 20 (November 11, 2013): 1879–85. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.10059.
Rosano, Aldo, Christian Abo Loha, Roberto Falvo, Jouke van der Zee, Walter Ricciardi, Gabriella Guasticchi, and Antonio Giulio de Belvis. “The Relationship Between Avoidable Hospitalization and Accessibility to Primary Care: A Systematic Review.” European Journal of Public Health 23, no. 3 (June 2013): 356–60. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cks053.
Tipirneni, Renuka, Eric T. Roberts, Helen G. Levy, Andrei R. Stefanescu, Kenneth M. Langa, Kara Zivin, Donovan T. Maust, and John Z. Ayanian. “Health Care Utilization and Costs for Older Adults Aging Into Medicare After the Affordable Care Act.” JAMA Health Forum 6, no. 1 (January 17, 2025): e245025.https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.5025.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.
