(Editorial - Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to tackling the many challenges that are holding back West Virginians. There’s a new metric, a new study nearly every day that shows us how very far we have to go.

But it’s important to use that information to help us change things — to show us where “the way things have always been” has gotten us.

Among the more recent studies was WalletHub’s “States Where People Spend the Most and Least on Health Care.” Mountain State residents who already know we are among the most unhealthy in the country can guess where we wind up on this one.

We spend the third-highest percentage of income on health care of any state. We are in familiar company, as Louisiana and Mississippi are even worse. (Maryland residents spend the least.)

Here, average cost of healthcare per year is $783.81 and average cost of healthcare as a percentage of median monthly household income is 16.24%. We are 19th for the average cost of a visit to the doctor and sixth for the average cost of a visit to the optometrist. The problem is the combination of having what WalletHub says is the second-lowest median household income in the country and high prices for certain types of medical examinations. Oddly, the report does note that West Virginia is the cheapest state for cholesterol-lowering medication Lipitor.

Of course, the experts recommend getting insured, using preventative care, budgeting carefully, leading a healthy lifestyle, having a health savings account, trying telehealth — even using a rewards credit card to pay medical bills to try to earn back a portion of the cost.

But the experts agree there is plenty outside individuals’ control.

“Recent policies that reduce safety nets and increase general economic uncertainty will put increasing pressure on household decisions regarding health,” said Patrick Bernet, an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University. “First, real incomes are decreasing — both due to flat wages and increased prices due to tariffs. So, there is less left for spending on healthcare.”

But another warning comes from Jeff Helton, academic director of health administration programs at CU Denver Business School.

“Direct-to-consumer advertising of health care services is definitely increasing health care costs. Those ‘new’ treatments are usually more expensive than established treatments without a lot of additional benefit. Because those new treatments are usually covered by insurance, patients tend to want the ‘latest’ treatments because of a slick marketing pitch. Physicians are now good business people and are looking to market new services to get more patients to treat. Again, with insurance, the patient has little incentive to not follow a recommendation for a new service that may or may not yield any greater benefit than an established treatment.”

Try to take care of your health and finances — it’s good practice no matter where you live. But don’t be afraid to ask questions either. We’ve got to be our own advocates to make sure our bodies AND our wallets stay healthy.