This MI City Tops The Nation In Health Care Spending: Study

DETROIT — Detroit tops the nation when it comes to health care spending, according to a new report.

A Wallethub analysis shows Detroiters spend 13.17 percent of their household income on typical health care costs, making it the highest percentage among residents in the U.S.'s 100 largest cities.

"As health care gets increasingly more expensive, more and more people find themselves struggling to afford essential services and medicines. While some cities have lower prices than others, the average income in many places still may not be enough to keep up with the costs, especially when consumers have also faced inflated prices across all other facets of their budgets over the past few years," WalletHub Writer and Analyst Chip Lupo said.

To determine the ranking, Wallethub analyzed the prices of five key health care components, including doctor, dentist and optometrist visits and prices of ibuprofen and insulin. They added the costs together and compared them to the median household incomes across the 100 largest cities in the U.S.

While Detroit ranked as the 12th-most expensive city for a doctor visit, it did much better in the other categories. The city was ranked No. 28 for a dentist visit, No. 62 for insulin, No. 73 ibuprofen and No. 85 for an optometrist visit, according to the study.

So the biggest reason why Detroit leads the nation in health care spending is actually because its median income is so low. The city's median income is $39,575, the second-lowest average in the country, according to the study.

For comparison, residents of Gilbert, Arizona, only spend around 3.5 percent of their income for the same services and medicines, the lowest percentage.

The cities that spend the most on health care are listed below:

1. Detroit, Michigan, 13.17 percent
2. Cleveland, Ohio, 11.35 percent
3. Newark, New Jersey, 11.28 percent
4. Toledo, Ohio, 11.03 percent
5. Birmingham, Alabama, 9.97 percent
6. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 9.58 percent
7. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 9.44 percent
8. New Orleans, Louisiana, 9.28 percent
9. Spokane, Washington, 9.16 percent
10. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 9.01 percent

You can see the full study here