California’s Per Capita Health Care Spending Below National Average
California's per capita spending on health care is below the national average, according to data compiled by the Wall Street Journal, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports ("Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 4/10).
Nationwide Findings
U.S. health care spending averaged $6,815 per person in 2009 -- the latest year for which complete data were available (Radnofsky, Wall Street Journal, 4/8).
State spending on health care ranged from a low of $5,031 in Utah to a high of $10,349 in Washington, D.C.
California Findings
California health care spending -- which includes costs for doctors, drugs and hospitals -- in 2009 was $6,258 per resident, about $600 less than the national average.
According to data from the Journal, California's spending on hospitals -- the largest portion of health care expenses -- was $2,077 per person, which was the sixth lowest among all states.
Overall, California in 2009 spent about $225 billion on health care from private and public funds. That figure represents more than 10% of the state's economy -- the largest single sector of the economy, according to "Capitol Alert" ("Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 4/10).
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