The Bay State has one of the lowest rates of growth in annual health spending, according to a report from the state’s HPC. The data released on Wednesday relies upon the federal CMS’ State Personal HealthCare Expenditure data set.
The data shows that between 2009 and 2014 the average annual healthcare spending growth in Massachusetts was 2.32%, which is below the national average of 3.14% growth and represents a lower rate of growth than all but three states (Arizona, North Carolina, and Hawaii). And during that five-year stretch, both hospital and physician spending in Massachusetts grew at a lower rate than the national average.
While excess spending in Massachusetts relative to the U.S. average decreased for hospitals, physicians, and nursing care facilities, spending in home health and for drugs increased relative to the national average.
The report also noted the average Massachusetts resident pays $10,559 a year on healthcare, which is significantly higher than the U.S. average ($8,045). Some have argued that Bay Staters have one of the highest income levels in the U.S. and that they pay more for everything from healthcare, to electricity, to real estate. In fact, a 2016 Commonwealth Fund analysis shows that families in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts had the lowest health insurance costs as a share of income, at 6.8% and 7.3%, respectively.
In general, as various entities have attempted to parse data to make sweeping conclusions about large economic systems, MHA has urged caution. In fact, the authors of recent Health Affairs article [published online, June 14, 2017] that the HPC used in compiling its report, note: “Variation in per capita personal health care spending by state tends to be associated with several factors. States that have relatively higher levels of personal income per capita, greater percentages of the population enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid, and more health care capacity tend to have relatively higher levels of health spending per capita. On the other hand, states that have relatively higher rates of uninsurance tend to have relatively lower levels of health spending per capita.”
And in a you-get-what-you-pay-for argument, it is important to note that Massachusetts – in various surveys,
including this one – is consistently rated one of the healthiest states in the U.S.