Personal health care expenditures by state, selected years 1966-1978.

In 1966, spending for personal health care in the U.S. was $39 billion. By 1978, these expenditures had grown to $166 billion. Among regions and states, different patterns and levels of spending emerged, along with different rates of growth. Some of the highlights from the accompanying report which pinpoint personal health care spending differences among regions and states are listed below. In 1978, $745 per person was spent for personal health care services within the U.S. Massachusetts led the nation in spending with $935 per person. The lowest spending for personal health--$521 per capita--occurred in South Carolina. Expenditures for hospital care ranged from a high of $490 per capita in Massachusetts to a low of $197 per capita in Idaho, with the U.S. expenditure level at $337 per person.