Healthcare Costs a Pretty Penny in Minnesota

Date: January 17, 2017

No matter where you go in the state, Obamacare rates will still affect you.

Obamacare continues to ravage the countryside, particularly in Minnesota, where rates vary depending on your area or health clinic in the state, according to Twin Cities Business.

Minnesota Community Measurement released the 2016 Cost and Utilization Report that concludes “there continues to be significant increases in costs each year” and that there is “significant variation” among those costs.

 For example, the state average for a lower extremity MRI test in Minnesota is $645, Fairview Health Services offers this procedure for $512, and Allina Health Clinics offers the same test for $656. Both health organizations are in Minneapolis.

 “How do you go to a doctor that will help get you the least services that you need for the best outcome?” said Jim Chase, president of Minnesota Community Measurement. “This kind of data helps people to think about that, especially the medical groups for their patients.”

 Obamacare rates are generally lower in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area compared with outside the area because there are more options for patients to choose from than in outlying areas, according to Chase.

 The report calculates that for all patients ages 1 to 64 in Minnesota, the total cost of care is $474 per month, but that number differs depending on gender. Women 40 to 64 have a total cost of care at $662 per month, and women under 18 have a total cost of care at $227 per month. Overall, women are more expensive than men at $505 to $437.

 The report’s cost of care calculation includes inpatient, outpatient, and pharmacy costs both the patient and insurers pay, but it does not include the cost of healthcare premiums.

“[Medical] groups across the state are realizing they have to manage this cost of care in partnership with their patients,” Chase said.

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