Texas Health Care Costs and Performance

Healthcare costs in Texas are slightly below the national average for the individual consumer, but so is overall quality and performance. A single premium employer plan costs an employee an average of $617 compared to the national average of $723, with an employer contribution of $3,491 compared to the national average of $3,268.

Employees pay less than the national average for family premiums (25% compared to 24%) of the total cost with employers also contributing less (75% compared with the national average of 76%). The state spends a total of approximately 103 billion per year (see Table 1 for a basic breakdown with comparison).

Table 1

	United States	Texas
Hospital Care	36.50%	37.80%
Physician / Professional Services	28.80%	31.10%
Drugs / Medical Nondurables	14.30%	13.10%
Nursing Home Care	7.40%	5.30%
Dental Services	5.20%	4.60%
Home Health Care	2.80%	3.40%
Medical Durables	1.50%	1.60%
Personal Health Care	3.40%	3.10%
Total	100.00%	100.00%

Performance statistics from the U.S. Department of Health shows overall performance to be below average (see Table 2 for a basic breakdown).

Table 2

Health Care Measures	Compared with National Average	Direction
Preventive Care	Below average	Unchanged
Acute Care	Below average	Unchanged
Chronic Care	Below average	Worsened
Hospital Care	Below average	Improved
Ambulatory Care	Below average	Worsened
Nursing Home Care	Above average	Unchanged
Home Health Care	Below average	Unchanged
Cancer Care	Below average	Worsened
Diabetes Care	Below average	Unchanged
Heart Disease Care	Below average	Unchanged
Maternal and Child Health Care	Below average	Worsened
Respiratory Diseases Care	Below average	Unchanged

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Sources:

The Kaiser Family Foundation, statehealthfacts.org.
Data Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends. 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) -Insurance Component. Tables II.C.1, II.C.2, II.C.3 available at: Medical Expenditure Panel survey (MEPS), accessed August 8, 2007.
Additional data was provided from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.