(The Center Square) – Ahead of upcoming premium hikes, a report published Monday ranked Spokane as the ninth-highest city nationwide for where people spend the most on health care and basic medications.
According to personal finance website WalletHub, Spokane is the only Northwest city to land in the top 10. The study compared the costs of doctor, dentist and optometrist visits with the prices of ibuprofen and insulin across some of the largest cities nationwide. Seattle ranked 74th and Portland ranked 41st, according to Monday’s report.
The main metric associated with each position is the cost of health care as a share of median monthly household income. Spokane families make tens of thousands of dollars less than those in Seattle and Portland, but pay a larger share of their income for relatively the same basic care and medications…