2021-06-29
The US health system works differently from many others in the world and is characterized by high costs for the individual. In fact, it is the higher prices of drugs, treatments and hospital care that the US spends more per capita on health care than any other developed country in the world, according to a 2019 report by Johns Hopkins.
Although expensive, healthcare costs are borne in large part by the government. In 2019, 29.0% of all healthcare spending in the United States was paid by the federal government. A somewhat smaller proportion, 28.4%, was paid for by households. State and local governments contributed 16.1% of the total.
State governments spent $ 885 billion on health care, or $ 2,696 per person, in 2018, the most recent year for which state and local data are available. Due to different budget priorities and needs, local government spending on health varies significantly from state to state. Per capita healthcare spending ranges from less than $ 1,100 to over $ 3,600.
Texas spent $ 1,509 per capita on the health of its residents in 2018, the 10th lowest sum of any state.
Texas’s health spending budget was $ 43.8 billion in 2018. The state’s health budget covers a portion of Medicaid coverage, state hospitals and medical university schools, and other health expenditures and programs that address needs such as community well-being, substance abuse, health inspection, and pollution control.
In 2018, states allocated between 17% and 39% of their total budget for health care costs. Texas spent 29.0%, the 22nd highest health spending relative to all government spending.
In each state, most of all health care spending goes to public welfare programs. These programs include Medicare and Medicaid, two government-funded health insurance programs that cover the elderly, the disabled, and those on low incomes.
Texas devoted 76.2% of its health budget to public welfare in 2018, the eighth lowest percentage, or $ 1,150 per capita. States across the country spend an average of 66.0% of their total health care spending, or $ 1,778 per person, on public welfare programs.
People with disabilities and those 65 and over are the most likely to need medical care and receive government Medicaid expenses. Texas adults aged 65 and over make up 12.9% of the state’s population, the third highest percentage and compared to 16.5% in the US as a whole. Approximately 11.5% of the population of Texas have a disability, the 10th lowest percentage in the country compared to 12.7% nationwide.
To find out how much each state spends on your health, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the detailed state government health expenditures provided by the US Census Bureau’s 2018 Annual State and Local Finances Survey. That is how much the government of each state spends per inhabitant. That is how much the government of each state spends per inhabitant.
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This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven coverage for state and local markets across the country.
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