SBE Council Ranks States According to Health Care Policy Costs

On February 3, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) released its "Health Care Policy Cost Index: Ranking the States According to Policies Affecting the Cost of Health Care."

SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan declared: "Few understand the costs of health care better than small business owners. In the face of significant costs, they struggle to remain competitive, provide health care coverage for themselves, their own families, employees and the families of workers. Unfortunately, many policies that have been put into effect have only increased health insurance costs. That is the case not just with federal policies, but state initiatives as well."

SBE Council's "Health Care Policy Cost Index" ranks the states according to five policy measures that impact the costs of health care: 1) mandated benefits on insurers, 2) "play or pay" mandate on businesses, 3) community rating mandate, 4) guaranteed issue mandate, and 5) tax deductibility for health savings accounts. (Four of these factors were included in SBE Council's "Small Business Survival Index 2008: Ranking the Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship Across the Nation," which was recently published in December 2008.) The five measures are combined into a health costs score, upon which the 50 states and District of Columbia are ranked.

The best 15 states in terms of state health care policies are: 1) Idaho, 2) Utah, 3) Iowa, 4t) Michigan, 4t) Ohio, 6) Alaska, 7) South Carolina, 8) South Dakota, 9) Pennsylvania, 10t) Nebraska, 10t) Wyoming, 12) District of Columbia, 13) Kentucky, 14) North Dakota, and 15) Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, the 15 worst states are: 37) Minnesota, 38) New Hampshire, 39t) North Carolina, 39t) Rhode Island, 41) Florida, 42) New York, 43) New Jersey, 44) Colorado, 45) Maryland, 46) California, 47) Vermont, 48) Connecticut, 49t) Maine, 49t) Washington, and 51) Massachusetts.

SBE Council chief economist Raymond J. Keating, author of the report, concluded: "Whatever health care crisis there might be in this nation, its origins can be traced back to governmental policies that raise the costs of health care, and thereby limit the availability of health care coverage. If policymakers are serious about having a positive impact on health care, then they must significantly relieve the system of mandates and regulations at the federal and state levels."

The full state rankings are available in the "Health Care Policy Cost Index."