Washington Health Costs and Performance

Healthcare costs in Washington are below the national average for the individual, but overall quality and performance are above average. A single premium employer plan costs an employee an average of $384 compared to the national average of $723, with an employer contribution of $3,591 compared to the national average of $3,268. Employees pay less than the national average for family premiums (22% compared to 24%) of the total cost with employers contributing more (78% compared with the national average of 76%). The state spends a total of approximately 31.6 billion per year (see Table 1 for a basic breakdown with comparison).

Table 1

	United States	Washington
Hospital Care	36.50%	34.10%
Physician / Other Professional Services	28.80%	32.80%
Drugs / Medical Nondurables	14.30%	11.90%
Nursing Home Care	7.40%	5.80%
Dental Services	5.20%	7.90%
Home Health Care	2.80%	2.60%
Medical Durables	1.50%	1.50%
Other Personal Health Care	3.40%	3.30%
Total	100.00%	100.00%

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

Table 2

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

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Sources:

The Kaiser Family Foundation, statehealthfacts.org. Data Source: Health Expenditure Data, Health Expenditures by State of Residence, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, released September 2007; available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData. Additional data was provided from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.