A recent study by the Milliman Medical Index concludes that Miami, Florida has the highest health care costs in the country for private insurance. The average cost for a family of four is hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars more expensive than other major U.S. cities.

Here are the five cities with the highest annual health insurance costs for a family of four – including employer and employee contributions:

Miami ……………. $24,965
New York City … $24,545
Chicago …………. $23,551
Boston …………… $22,419
Philadelphia …… $22,054

So – what’s the deal? What are the reasons that residents of Miami are receiving such high health insurance quotes? It’s complicated:

• Seniors and Miami go together like peanut butter and jelly. It is one of the most famous retirement destinations in the country. Miami ranks at or near the top of the nation for Medicare every year.
• Malpractice Suits. The city of Miami has an unusual amount of malpractice suits and many doctors cannot afford the steep cost of liability insurance. As a way to cover their bases and avoid getting sued, some doctors are calling for patients to be tested for everything in the book. This drives up costs.
• Miami-Dade County has cut Medicaid rates by over 15 percent in the past two years. Health insurance carriers have to make up the difference somehow, and they are turning to employer-based insurance to do so.

In addition to these Miami-specific examples, employers nationwide are passing more health insurance costs onto their workers. In the event that health care reform is not knocked down, Miami’s health care costs could have a more sunny future.