Top 10 States with the Lowest Costs for Running a Medical Practice

These 10 states posted some of the lowest 2026 Medicare practice expense GPCI among states that CMS treats as a single statewide locality, with broader price levels and selected malpractice or tax indicators adding context.

By
mdspire news news staff
May 18, 2026
3 min

MDSpire News

Objective:

To identify states with the lowest costs for operating a medical practice based on various economic indices.

Approach:

Key Findings:

Arkansas has the lowest practice expense GPCI at 0.859 and malpractice GPCI at 0.515.
Mississippi follows with a practice expense GPCI of 0.861 and malpractice GPCI of 0.739.
Alabama, Kentucky, and Oklahoma also rank low in practice expenses.
Iowa has the lowest malpractice GPCI at 0.397.
New Mexico has a higher practice expense GPCI of 0.917 but the highest malpractice GPCI at 1.201.

Interpretation:

States with lower GPCI and regional price parity are more favorable for physicians considering practice locations, impacting operational costs significantly.

Limitations:

Data is specific to 2026 and may not reflect future changes.
Regional price parity may not account for all local economic factors.

Conclusion:

Physicians should consider both GPCI and regional price parity when deciding on practice locations, as these factors significantly influence operational costs.