(Editorial - Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Health care coverage is on the minds of many these days, as we consider what changes at the federal level might mean for those covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Here in West Virginia, approximately 19% of the population is covered by Medicare and approximately 28% is covered by either Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, according to a report by the Association of Health Care Journalists.

But the topic is broader than those two kinds of coverage. According to WalletHub’s “States Where People Spend the Most and Least on Health Insurance,” West Virginia ranks second in the country for paying the most, with the cost of insurance as a percentage of the median monthly household income being 18.81%. Only Vermont is higher, at 19.61%.

“This is due to a combination of high premiums and low incomes,” the report’s authors wrote. “The average monthly health care premium for a silver plan in West Virginia is $908, which is the third-highest in the country. At the same time, West Virginia has the second-lowest median household income, at $57,917.”

In offering ways to improve the situation, WalletHub suggested first that people should not try to avoid the expense of health care coverage completely, as the cost of one major medical emergency could be devastating. From there the advice went something like budget well, consider high-deductible plans if you are healthy, work at a job that covers your health insurance, stay on your parents’ insurance as long as possible, use preventative care and opt for in-network providers.

West Virginians can likely think of several “yes, but …” responses to some of those ideas. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worth considering. In the meantime, the other piece of the puzzle is figuring out how to reverse the circumstances and habits that have lead us to be one of the least healthy states in the country — and therefore, perhaps, both more of a risk to insurers and less able to work somewhere that includes health insurance as a benefit. Some of us grew up in households where there was distrust of medical professionals and a reluctance to get ahead of problems by, for example, taking advantage of even covered preventative care.

Use the report as inspiration to look both at your health insurance situation and your own behaviors — regarding both your physical and financial health. Whatever the reasons for the imbalance, it is costing us, dearly.