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- Michigan was followed by Washington, Nevada, Hawaii and New Mexico, respectively.
- The report ranked South Dakota as the state with the most expensive health care costs.
- Rankings are based on data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The cost of health care is the most affordable in Michigan, according to a new report from Forbes Advisor.
The ranking put Washington as the second most affordable state for health care, followed by Nevada, Hawaii and New Mexico, respectively.
Researchers based the list on data from the Kaiser Family Foundation and ranked states on 11 different affordability metrics ranging from percent increase in out-of-pocket health care expenditures over five years, to percent of residents who did not see a doctor in the past year due to cost.
Michigan received a score of 0 out of a possible 100. The state’s five-year increase in health care spending per person was the sixth lowest in the nation at 13.67 percent, while residents with employer-provided insurance pay some of the nation’s lowest premiums and deductibles.
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In addition, residents with an individual health plan from the Affordable Care Act market place have the fourth lowest average annual premium in the country at $4,092 per year. That total is only cheaper in Minnesota, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
In Michigan, half of residents receive health insurance through their employer while 23.5 percent of the population is covered by Medicaid, according to KFF data.
Washington, which scored a 1.93 out of 100, has the fourth lowest ranking for the percentage of children whose families had challenges paying for a child’s medical bills in the past year. Just six percent of families reported facing this financial hurdle. Washington is also among the wealthiest states in America.
Overall, the state had the 10th lowest increase in five-year increase of health care spending per person at more than 14 percent, authors wrote, marking almost half the cost increases seen in New York and Hawaii, where the biggest jumps were recorded.
Although Nevada ranked third for the most affordable health care costs in the country, the state did have the 11th highest percentage of adults who delayed care in the past year due to cost concerns.
On the other end of the spectrum, South Dakota ranked as the most expensive state for health care, followed by Louisiana, West Virginia, Florida and Wyoming.
On Tuesday, South Dakota became the seventh Republican-led state to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act via a ballot initiative.
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