The state of California spends less per person on health care than do the majority of the other states. This may sound like a good thing, but really isn’t. California isn’t especially efficient with utilizing the money it spends on health care. Instead, the state has around 7 million uninsured people.
The discovery that a state spends less on health care, per person, than most of the other states spend doesn’t necessarily mean that the state has become amazingly efficient with budgeting, or with making sure that people get the care that they need. California, for example, is among the group of states that spends the least money on health care. It also has a huge number of people who lack health insurance.
In 2009, the total amount of money that was spent by insurers, government agencies, and individuals in California came to about $6,239 per person. That figure is much lower than the national average of spending on health care, which was around $6,815. This puts California at the bottom of the list, with Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Idaho.
What factors make the amount of money California spends on health care so low? Today, around one in five people in California are uninsured. This group can’t afford to pay for the medical care they need, so they avoid seeking treatment until they are severely ill or injured.
Another factor that has an affect on the amount of money that California spends on health care has to do with Medi-Cal. California has a lower reimbursement rate on what it pays doctors and hospitals that treat people who are poor than do most other states in America. The reimbursement rate is so low that health care providers are suing the state of California in an attempt to block a 10% cut to reimbursements.
A third factor has to do with demographics. California has a higher percentage of young and healthy citizens than do most other states. The young and healthy don’t require nearly as much health care as do older people who have severe illnesses. Therefore, the younger group doesn’t go see a doctor very often. Also, California has a higher percentage of citizens that are covered by HMOs than many other states have. This, too, can help to keep costs low.
In the near future, California will be facing a crisis due to the amount of people who are functionally uninsured in this state. People who are using Medi-Cal technically have health insurance.
But, since California doesn’t properly reimburse doctors and hospitals that treat people who use this type of health insurance, it has become increasingly difficult for people to find doctors who will take patients who use Medi-Cal. Poverty rates are climbing as California is cutting back on health insurance programs for the poor. This is a situation that is in dire need of change.
Image by photologue_np on Flickr