IOWA CITY, Iowa, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Livability.com placed Iowa City, Iowa, No. 1 on its Top 10 list of cities for affordable healthcare.
The website cited Iowa City and the other nine communities for their low healthcare costs, good access to hospitals, doctors and dentists, and excellent quality of life.
The website measured not only healthcare affordability, but also took into account data on average per-capita spending on healthcare and related items. It factored in the number of area hospitals, the number of primary care physicians and dentists per capita, as well as quality of life.
Residents of Iowa City spend 17 percent less on healthcare than the rest of the nation, but it is residents' easy access to hospitals, doctors and dentists that earned it the top ranking. Its 14 area hospitals keep healthcare costs down, the city has a doctor for every 634 residents and it has one dentist for every 532 people.
Ranked No. 2 was Morgantown, W.Va.; followed by Mankato, Minn.; Portland, Maine; Hartford, Conn.; Charlottesville, Va.; Albany, N.Y.; Lincoln, Neb.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Burien, Wash., near Seattle.
