CLEVELAND, OH — February 15, 2005 — With employer health care costs expected to increase in a range from 8 percent to 12 percent in 2005, the cost and availability of health care continue to be an important factor when businesses decide where to expand or relocate their facilities.
For the third year, Expansion Management magazine is once again reporting how states stack up in terms of health care costs and availability. Expansion Management is a national business site location publication that is mailed to more than 45,000 CEOs, vice presidents, directors and other officers of companies that have indicated they are considering expanding into new geographic areas.
This year, Kansas ranked No. 1 in Expansion Management magazine's 3rd annual Health Care Cost Quotient (HQ) rankings.
Kansas was followed by Tennessee, Louisiana, North Dakota and South Dakota. Maryland, New Hampshire, Alabama, and Virginia. Rounding out the top 10 were Missouri, Ohio, Iowa, California and Alabama. Among the top 20 finishers, the Midwest took top honors, with nine states. Seven Southern states finished in the top 20, while Eastern and Western regions each had two states.
“Lower health care costs to employers represents a major competitive advantage for states that score well on the Health Care Cost Quotient,” said Mike Keating, senior research editor of Expansion Management Magazine. “The HQ is one way that Expansion Management educates its readers on how lower health care costs can make a positive impact on their bottom line.”
This year’s Health Care Cost Quotient (HQ) is based on data grouped into five major categories: health care facilities, health care providers, health insurance costs, health care provider costs, and malpractice insurance costs.
“With health care being such a major expense for today’s employers, companies engaged in the site selection process can save themselves some money by considering the fact that health care costs vary from place to place,” said Bill King, chief editor of Expansion Management.
“Businesses moving to a new area need to do their homework before they make relocation decisions,” said Mike Keating, senior research editor of Expansion Management Magazine. “Besides finding a location that offers reasonable health care costs, businesses will want a location that has high-quality health care readily available; that will help insure effective recruiting of needed workers.”
A copy of this year’s article (along with the results of the study), which was published in the February 2005 issue of Expansion Management magazine, is posted on our Web site at www.ExpansionManagement.com and look under RESEARCH STUDIES.
Means the article is accessible only to our magazine subscribers.
