September 18, 2007
Disparity in state health care spending
NYTimes.com reporting on a new article in Health Affairs (subscription may be required.)
A new federal study shows huge variations in personal health spending among states, ranging from an average of nearly $6,700 a person in Massachusetts to less than $4,000 in Utah.
It is interesting that not all health care spending is the same.
The researchers noted differences among states with the highest health spending. Massachusetts, for example, has higher per capita spending on hospital care than any other state, while Maine spends more than other states on home and community-based care. Maine had the second highest level of spending on doctors’ services, after Alaska.
According to the author's data (Exhibit 1), Ohioans spent more per capita on health care than the national average in 1991, 1998, and 2004. Personal health care spending grew in Ohio 4.8% from 1991-1998 and 7.4% from 1998-2004.