States Spent Nearly $31 Billion On Employee Health Insurance Last Year

States paid nearly $31 billion to insure their employees last year, according to a new Pew Charitable Trusts study.

The study offers a window into what is one of the largest sources of state health care spending, second only to Medicaid spending. On average, states spent $808 in premium payments per employee per month, Pew finds. But that number varied widely by state — in part due to factors policymakers can control, and in part to those they cannot.

An average state employee was on the hook for about 16 percent, or $155, of his monthly $963 premium, including coverage for dependents. Premiums were low in a handful of states spread throughout the south — Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina — and South Dakota. They were also very high in a handful of Northeast states — New Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont — as well as Alaska and Wisconsin.

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