When trying to get an understanding of how much health insurance should cost the only numbers that are thrown around is the total spent on health care in a specific state divided by the residents of that state. This gives you per capita number, which is essence is meaningless. A state with sicker people will see their total healthcare expense higher than a state with healthier people.
The Kaiser Family Foundation did a very interesting study. They found as you can see in the chart below that sickest 5% of people are the responsible for 50% of healthcare expenses.
Do you see these numbers? The people who spend the least on health insurance, spent less than $829 a year for health care. It is the top 5% who spend over $18,000 a year and then the top 1% who spend over $50,000 a year. Who spends $50,000 a year on healthcare? That answer is simple, nursing home patients, and anyone who has had a illness like Cancer.
So next time you read study that says people in Utah spend half of what people in Washington DC spend, you need to understand, these are total numbers of the entire population. Compare how much you are spending on health insurance and see if you can find a better price for your individual or family health insurance policy.
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