In 2007, national health care expenditures were $7,421 per resident and accounted for 16.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). Health care costs have outpaced inflation and have risen exponentially over the years due in part to increased usage of technology and prescription drugs, an aging of the population and an increase in chronic diseases as well as administrative costs of administering both public and private insurance programs (Table 11).
- States in the West tend to have lower per capita health care expenditures while states in the Northeast have the highest expenditures per capita.
- Expenditures per capita range from less than $4,500 in Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and New Mexico to over $6,500 in New York, Maine, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.
- Nationally, Medicare spends over $8,300 per enrollee, ranging from less than $6,000 in Hawaii to over $9,500 in New York and New Jersey.
- In 2009, the average premium cost (including the employee and employer shares) for employer-based family coverage was $13,027 and $4,669 for single coverage.
- Yearly family premium costs range from less than $11,000 in Arkansas to over $14,500 in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin.
View related interactive table on statehealthfacts.org
