Want good health care? It's location, location ...

The quality of health care Americans receive depends largely on where they live, with insurance coverage, access to preventive medicine and disease treatment varying widely from state to state, according to a study released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund.

Residents of Vermont have the best health care in the country, the foundation said. The small northern state, which embarked on a radical plan to provide all citizens with health care less than a decade ago, also leads the nation in "equity," or making sure that people of lower income groups have health care.

Generally, the report found, states in the South, Southwest and lower Midwest have worse insurance rates and less access to good medical treatment.