California Ranked 10th Highest on the 2012 Health Care Policy Cost Index

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council has ranked California as the 10th highest on the 2012 Health Care Policy Cost Index. California’s health care costs have been driven up by the 56 mandates for health treatments and it also doesn't allow health savings accounts to be deducted from state taxes. Its Medicaid costs per capita are lower than 24 states. Based on the impact of its public policies, California is the 10th most expensive state for health care costs. The states with the lowest health care policy costs are South Carolina, Iowa, Indiana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Alabama and Wisconsin.

Among the factors on which states are ranked are mandates for everyone to receive the same insurance rate regardless of health care risks; state guaranteeing that everyone gets insurance; availability of high-risk pools, number of treatments and conditions mandated to be covered by health insurance and per capita Medicaid spending.

The new and improved treatments and care account for some increase in cost, but the SEC Council weighs various public policies that impact the healthcare market.

Third-party payment for healthcare is one factor in rising costs. The phenomenon is worse when government is the third party payer since the incentives in government itself is to spend more and to be relatively unconcerned about gaining efficiencies and eliminating waste.

Regulations and mandates also impact health care costs. Some drive up costs and others contain costs by increasing consumer control.

Source-Medindia