Ohioans spend $5,725 per person on health care

A new report in the journal Health Affairs found that in 2004 Ohioans spent $5,725 per person on health care in 2004, the highest rate of spending in the Great Lakes region and above the national average of $5,283. (Source: Personal Health Care Spending tables, Health Affairs.) In 1998, Ohioans spent $3,728, while they spent $2,681 in 1991. Those numbers "include spending on individual health care from all sources, including insurance, personal expenses, Medicare, Medicaid and other sources." (Source: "Health care spending highest in Northeast," Associated Press, Sept. 18, 2007.) The annual growth in health care spending in Ohio between 1998 and 2004 was 7.4%.

Overall, the Northeastern section of the United States spent the most per person on health care at $6,151. The highest per capita spending was recorded in the District of Columbia with $8,295 per person, followed by Massachusetts at $6,683, Maine at $6,540, and New York at $6,535. According to the Associated Press article, possible reasons for these states having such high spending is due to high personal income, a high concentration of physicians, and low rates of uninsured people.

The complete report, "Health Spending By State Of Residence, 1991-2004," is available on the Health Affairs website.