Whitefish receives top honors as one of the least expensive rural hospital service areas in the nation.
The Dartmouth Atlas Project ranked Whitefish 2nd for having the least expensive Medicare costs. The average yearly cost of caring for a Medicare patient in Whitefish is almost $4,000. That's 51% lower than the national average.
Researchers say the lower costs are likely due in part to decisions made by physicians.
Sandy Swanson, manager of Quality Services at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, tells the News Channel, "We do have a good quality health care in the valley here and it's surprising to people that aren't in the valley what we do have here."
North Valley Hospital CEO Jason Spring says, "That really benefits the residents and the employers of the valley when you look at the price that we're able to deliver all of the care for... Not each specific episode but the health of our communities."
Whitefish ranked second only to Bonners Ferry, Idaho. A small town in Texas had the most expensive health care in rural areas.
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