[Excerpt] The average household in the United States spent just over $700 more on health care in 1997 than in 1987, $1,841 compared to $1,135, respectively. During this period, health care expenditures rose at a greater rate in the Midwest than in the other major regions. Midwestern consumer units spent 73 percent more on health care in 1997 than in 1987, compared to increases in the Northeast, South, and West of 63, 58, and 56 percent, respectively. Households in the Midwest and South spent an average of about $1,900 on health care in 1997, between 6 and 11 percent more than their counterparts in the Northeast and West.