Health care costs are rising at an alarming rate. For seniors,the prospect of the cost of staying healthy is particularlysobering.

Related: Retirement savingchecklist

And no wonder—a Motley Fool report points to a HealthView Servicesassessment that a 66-year-old couple retiring today could end upspending more than $400,000 on health care when Medicare premiums,supplemental insurance premiums, deductibles and copays are addedin. And that’s for a reasonably healthy couple.

When you factor in the cost of long-term care, the picture getseven bleaker, especially since 70 percent of seniors will need oneform or another of long-term care in their lifetimes. That alonecan break the bank.

But there is a bright spot (sort of) in this dim-looking future.Some states are better at keeping the costs down onsenior health care than others, and thanks to GoBankingRates crunching the numbers, you cancheck out which states are doing well and which are doing poorly atmaking health care affordable for seniors.

While obviously it’s prudent to save as much as possible againstthe day when you’ll need care—whether LTC or because of an accidentor illness that’s knocked you off your feet—you might want toconsider where you live as part of your strategy to stayhealthy.

If your money stretches farther for care, you’ll be betteroff—whereas if your home state’s medical costs will eat you alive,you might want to consider relocating, particularly after you seethe disparity in costs from state to state.

The 10 least expensive states, according to the report, alongwith their average monthly cost for senior health care, arethese:

10 least expensive states for senior health care

Average monthly senior health care cost:

1. Louisiana, $3,440

2. Missouri, $3,550

3. Oklahoma, $3,553

4. Alabama, $3,648

5. Texas, $3,650

6. Arkansas, $3,750

7. Georgia, $3,828

8. South Carolina, $3,968

9. Kansas, $3,998

10. Tennessee, $4,006

As you might expect, these states not only are cheaper forhealth care but have a lower cost of living overall. The 10 worst,in terms of health care costs, are these:

10 most expensive states for senior health care

The 10 most expensive ones, showing average monthly seniorhealth care cost, follow:

1. Alaska, $11,343 (yes, you read that correctly);

2. Connecticut, $6,743;

3. Massachusetts, $6,611;

4. Hawaii, $6,259;

5. North Dakota, $6,228;

6. District of Columbia, $6,184;

7. New York, $6,164;

8. New Jersey, $6,005;

9. New Hampshire, $5,946;

10. Delaware, $5,824

Now that you have an idea of what to expect, you can betterchoose a retirement destination that will keep you healthy—and atlower cost.