[Source: Health and Life Science Daily, September 18, 2007]
The New York Times (9/18, A22, Pear) reports that according to a study appearing in the Web edition of the journal Health Affairs, a huge variation exists "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." The study "said that Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Alaska and Connecticut had the highest per capita spending on healthcare in 2004," while the "lowest-spending states were Utah, Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico and Nevada. Per capita spending in Utah was 59 percent of that in Massachusetts." The lead author of the report, Anne B. Martin, an economist at the CMS, "said the reasons for the differences included the age and incomes of the population, the concentration of doctors in a state, the generosity of public programs, the extent of private health-insurance coverage, and the mix of services used by state residents." The AP (9/18, Schmid) notes, "Nationally, per capita health spending increased on average 6.3 percent per year from 1998 to 2004, the report said."
