On June 14, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS")' Office of the Actuary ("OACT") released data detailing health care spending by state for the years 1991 through 2014. The data provides estimates for spending on goods and services (e.g., hospital services or retail prescription drugs) as well as categorizing such spending by major payor (including Medicare, Medicaid, and other private health insurers).

The data validates considerable regional variation in personal healthcare spending. For the year 2014, New England had the highest level of total per capita personal health care spending of roughly $10,000.00 per person and the Southwest region of the United States U.S. had the lowest per capital health care spend of roughly $6,800.00 per person. The national average per capita personal health care spending was roughly $8,000.00 per person.

The state with the highest 2014 per enrollee Medicare spending was New Jersey ($12,614.00 per person) and the lowest was Montana ($8,238.00 per person). Interestingly, per capita health spending in Medicaid expansion (4.4%) and non-expansion states (4.5%) grew at similar rates.

Originally published by The Florida Bar Health Law Section, November 2017 Health Law Update.

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