Louisianans with employer-sponsored health insurance spent an average of $1,318 per person on prescription drugs in 2018, reflecting the fourth-highest rate in the U.S. and one of the factors driving up health care spending statewide.
That’s according to The Health Care Cost Institute, which today released its 2018 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report, analyzing state health care spending trends between 2014 and 2018 among the employer-sponsored health insurance population.
Nationally, average annual health care spending on medical services and prescription drugs for employer-sponsored individuals increased by 18.4% over the five-year period, reaching $5,892 in 2018.
Louisiana also saw an uptick in spending since 2014—by some 11.6%—but it’s lower than the national average, with each person paying an average of $5,718 for health care in 2018. Altogether, the state’s increase in health care spending ranks 29th in the country.
“It’s concerning because most of that spending growth comes from rising prices,” senior researcher Jean Fuglesten Biniek told reporters this afternoon in a conference call, referencing the 15% growth in average prices across the U.S.
Perhaps surprisingly, Louisiana actually saw the lowest price growth in the country between 2014 and 2018, with average prices increasing by just 9.5% despite the state being one of 45 states to see utilization of health care services rise slightly (2.1%) over the five years.
This is particularly reflected in prescription drug spending, with costs spiking 25.8% across the U.S. and 21.7% within Louisiana. It’s the largest cost increase the state has seen among any health care services since 2014, when the average amount residents spent on prescription drugs totaled $1,083 per person (which was even then significantly above the U.S. average of $888 per person).
The only states paying more per person for prescription drugs than Louisiana are New York ($1,385) and Connecticut ($1,360). The average for Washington, D.C., is $1,479.
Louisiana also experienced a 13.5% increase in outpatient costs and an 11% increase in professional treatment costs. Both upticks were below but close to the national averages.
Meanwhile, the state’s inpatient costs decreased by 2.2%—significantly lower than inpatient spending in the U.S., which saw an 11.4% uptick. In 2018, each person in Louisiana spent an average of $899 on inpatient services compared to the $1,128 spent nationwide.
Additionally, the state’s GDP per capita increased by 7.4% over the time period.
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