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Show HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES Utah's health care expenditures totaled $3,157,000,000 in 1991 (Table 91). To put this amount in perspective, 1991 health care expenditures constitute about 12.5% of total personal income. This nearly matches the FY 1991 total state budget of 3.4 billion dollars (including all federal funds and all state taxes and fees). Per capita health care expenditures in the U.S. were 44% higher than in Utah (Table 93). If Utah per capita expenditures were equal to those of the U.S., total state expenditures for FY 1991 would have been $4,546,000,000, $1.4 billion dollars more than the calculated expenditures. Per capita expenditures in Utah should be lower than the national average because of the nature of Utah's population (e.g., a low percentage of elderly persons) and because more people have healthy lifestyles (e.g., fewer people smoke). Given Utah's population characteristics, however, are health care expenditures lower or higher than expected? Lower expenditures than the nation may reflect a more efficient health care system, However, more detailed data are needed to understand expenditures in Utah, the mountain states, and the nation. Per capita nursing home expenditures have consistently been below the national and mountain states expenditures (Table 92). This may be, in part, because Utah has a smaller proportion of persons 65 and older. However, more data are necessary to further explain such low expenditures. The rates of increase for expenditures on nursing homes were similar for Utah, the mountain states and the U.S. in the 1976-1982 period (Table 93). However, in Utah for the 1982-1986 period, the rate of increase dropped greatly below the U.S. and mountain states' rates of increase to an average annual rate of 2.0%. In the 1986-1992 period, Utah's rate rebounded slightly to the same rate as the mountain states. In the U.S. for the 1986-1991 period, the rate dropped by one-tenth of a point. Health care expenditure data for the U.S. were not yet available for 1992. Increases in per capita expenditures for hospital care were higher in Utah for all three periods (Tables 92, 93). The rate of increase dropped in the 1982-1986 period but rose again for the 1986-1992 period. Per capita increase in physician care also declined during the 1986-1992 period, and increased during the 1986-1992 period. In the "other" category (including pharmacy, dental, eye-wear, and durable medical supplies, etc.), Utah's rate of increase in expenditures was below the U.S. and the mountain states in the 1976-1982 period. However, for the 1982-1986 period the rate of increase in this category rose to the same rate as the mountain states, and for the 1986-1992 period the rate of increase was greater than the mountain states. The differential rates of increase for the U.S., Utah and the mountain states need to be better understood. While the rate of increase for health care expenditures has declined, it continues to take an increasing share of total personal income. 64 HEALTH CARE, QUALITY, AND ACCESS |