ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico ranked fourth from the bottom in health care spending in 2004, according to a national study.
The state spent 85 percent of the national average per capita for health care that year, the most recent studied by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
New Mexico’s spending ranked above only Utah, at 75 percent of the national average, Arizona at 78 percent and Idaho at 84 percent.
New Mexico spent $4,471 on health care per capita in 2004, compared to the national average of $5,283.
“Because of their less populous nature, there may be less access to and availability of physicians and hospitals” in low-spending Western states, the study said.
The low-spending states also have fewer residents ages 65 and older, which could mean less demand for health care, the study said.
The study suggests spending is highest in areas where people have higher incomes and more access to services. Spending was highest in New England, with Massachusetts, the highest-spending state, at 124 percent of average.
States that tended to spend more were those with the highest personal incomes, including Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Delaware, and those with the highest number of physicians — Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont and Pennsylvania.
The study said Medicare and Medicaid recipients in New Mexico in 2004 spent more than the state’s per capita rate, but spending on the two programs still remained significantly lower than the national spending rates.
New Mexico spent $5,652 per Medicare recipient, compared to $7,439 nationally, and $4,944 per Medicaid recipient, compared to $6,119 nationally, the state said.
