Fort Worth among cities with highest health-insurance costs
December 9, 2004
Consumers can find cheaper health insurance in many cities outside Texas, a study shows.
Written by Maria M. Perotin, Fort Worth Star Telegram
When it comes to affordable health insurance, Fort Worth ranks in the bottom third of the country's 50 largest cities, a study released this week concludes.
The city placed No. 35 -- just above Dallas -- in the report from eHealthInsurance, an online seller of health insurance to individuals.
The cheapest health plan that the company's researchers found in Fort Worth would cost a family about $329 a month. That compares with a monthly premium of $172 for the least expensive plan in
top-ranked Kansas City, Mo.
Bob Fahlman, eHealthInsurance's chief operating officer, said
Texas insurers generally offer more expensive coverage than those in other states in part because they must pay for certain benefits that are mandated by Texas Law.
"It's one of most regulated states in the country when it comes to health care," Fahlman said.
Although most families get their health benefits from
employer-sponsored plans, the individual market is getting more attention as rising health care costs have prompted small companies
to abandon expensive coverage or drop benefits for the spouses and children of their workers.
Individual plans serve about 17 million Americans -- 6.7 percent
of the population, according to an analysis of 2003 data by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. In Dallas-Fort Worth, 5.6 percent of residents younger than 65 buy their health benefits
individually.
Fahlman cited several factors that appear to suppress health
insurance premiums in the most affordable cities. Among them: Heavy competition among doctors and hospitals that keeps the price of health care lower, competition among insurers, consumers who use
fewer medical services and a prevalence of health maintenance organizations that attempt to control costs with tighter management
of members' care.
For example, six cities in California -- where HMOs have a strong presence -- ranked among the top 10 in the study.
The eHealthInsurance researchers ranked cities according to which had the cheapest available health plan for a hypothetical
nonsmoking family of four, with a maximum annual deductible of $2,000 and co-insurance of 20 percent of medical bills. They looked
at 4,000 plans from 140 insurers -- shopping only at
eHealthInsurance.com for all but three cities.
Among Texas cities, Austin fared best, at No. 21. Others were: San Antonio, No. 34; El Paso, No. 37; and Houston, No. 43.
IN THE KNOW
Red Cross individual health insurance
The five U.S. cities with the cheapest monthly individual health insurance premiums for a nonsmoking family of four:
1. Kansas City, Mo.: $172
2. Long Beach, Calif.: $180
3. Columbus, Ohio: $182
4. (tie) Mesa, Ariz.: $185
Tucson, Ariz.: $185
Five cities with the most expensive monthly premiums:
46. Miami: $524
47. Minneapolis: $529
48. Charlotte, N.C.: $542
49. New York: $713
50. Boston: $767
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