Perhaps people living in the Bay State area should move south ifthey want a little health cost relief. Massachusetts and Vermontled the nation in 2010 with average, individual market healthinsurance premiums topping $400 per person per month, according tonew analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

That's about double the national average, which stands at $215.Alabama has the lowest average at $136 per month.

Premiums in Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey were among thenation's highest, averaging between $344 and $364. California,Arkansas, Idaho and Delaware posted average monthly premiums ofless than $170.

Researchers say premiums between the states are likely to becomea larger issue in 2014 as the nation transitions to the use ofpurchasing exchanges affording online price comparisons and due tonew laws that will require insurers to provide coverage to anyoneregardless of pre-existing conditions. But analysis shows residentsof states with lower premiums may face higher co-payments ordeductibles.

Massachusetts has already made it easier for people withpotentially expensive pre-existing conditions to get coverage,which is likely one reason for being the nation's pricieststate.

But Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick's top health and human servicesaide said the reason for the higher cost in Massachusetts is areflection of the New England region's generally higher cost ofliving.

“When you look at all of the contributors to increased cost inMassachusetts, about 15 percent of those increased costs areattributed to the higher cost of living in Massachusetts,” JudyAnnBigby, secretary of Health and Human Services, told lawmakers onthe House Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and StateAssets at a Statehouse hearing. “We're in a high-cost region.”

Still, high health care costs aren't anything new forMassachusetts. Five years after the state passed a universal healthcare law, officials are considering dramatic changes that wouldimprove care and trim costs.