Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah: Where do they fall on the list of most and least expensive states for health care?

Voices for Affordable Health has talked about the rising cost of health care time and time again. Now, we have a look at the most and least expensive states when it comes to medical care.

GoBankingRates took the cost data from Forbes Advisor and assigned states a score out of 100, with 0 being the most affordable.

According to GOBankingRates, South Dakota is the state where health care is the most expensive, with 2020 spending per capita at more than $11,500 and a score of 100. Several factors contribute to South Dakota’s high health care costs, including difficulties in paying for children’s medical bills and a significant increase in overall health care spending per person over a five-year period. The cheapest state is Michigan, with the spending per capita at just over $9,500 in 2020, and a score of 0 out of 100. According to Yahoo!, that’s because many state employees have employer-provided health insurance with some of the lowest premiums in the U.S.

You might wonder – what about Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah?

Washington has the lowest health care spending of the four, ranked 50 out of 51, with the spending per capita just above $8,900, and a score of 1.93 out of 100. Idaho ranked 40 out of 51, with health care spending per capita at $7,700, and a score of 37.48 out of 100. Oregon ranked 43 out of 51, with a score of 33.10. Health care spending per capita in Oregon is $9,625. Lastly, Utah had the highest health care spending of the four, ranked 37 out of 51, with the spending per capita at $7,241, and a score of 38.53 out of 100.

How much are you spending on health care in an average year? Are you concerned about rising costs? Share your story here.