.jpg)
123 Americans die every day because they don’t have
health insurance.(AP Photo/Nick Ut)
A study published in the latest edition of the American Journal of Public Health reports that 44,789 Americans die every year because they don’t have health insurance.
According to researchers at the University of Washington, School of Medicine and the Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, “lack of health insurance significantly increased the risk of mortality.”
The study, Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults, also states that, “90% of non-elderly adults without insurance cite cost or lack of employer-sponsored coverage as reasons for being uninsured.”
The most significant finding in the study is that the higher death rate among the uninsured is directly related to the lack of health care insurance, not to any other factors.
The increase death rate is not related to any of the other variables considered in the study (gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, employment, poverty, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and exercise).
Moreover, the study found that the higher death rate disappears when the uninsured reach the age of 65 and qualify for Medicare.
The uninsured are more likely to die than are the privately insured."
"The uninsured are more likely to go without needed care than the insured… are also less likely to have a usual source of medical care… decreasing their likelihood of receiving preventative and primary care."
This means that
3,732 Americans die every month,
861 Americans die every week,
123 Americans die every day,…
…simply because they can’t afford health insurance.
When you compare this to the latest data on U.S. deaths issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 17, 2009, you realize that the lack of health insurance is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States.
In other words, lack of health insurance kills more Americans than bacterial infections, suicide, liver disease, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s disease, or homicide.
The study also notes that:
The United States stands alone among industrialized nations in not providing health coverage to all of its citizens.”
Forty-six million Americans have no health insurance. How many of them have to die before we fix our health care system?
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, whether you’re to the right of me or to the left, it doesn’t matter. We’re all Americans, and 44,789 Americans are dying each year because they don’t health insurance. That's too many.
As Bob Dylan said:
How many deaths will it take till we know,
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind."
Comments
I do not see any reference to a "higher death rate" for the uninsured, only a figure of 45,000 which in and of it self does not mean anything (ie, how many people die every year who "do" have health insurance ?)
Also keep in mind, all of us are going to die !
The Democrats are saying that a "Study" says that 45,000 Americans die each year because of a lack of health insurance. If the health care bill passes it won't come into effect for 4 years. That means that 180,000 will die due to a lack of health insurance in the mean time. During this time the government will be collecting money from us to fund it. Yet they say nothing about this. Would you buy a house and make payments on it for 4 years while living on the street before you would be allowed to move in?
Another thought: How many people die every year over and above the 45,000 who have health insurance? Since they die even though they have health insurance, health insurance must be killing them since a lack of it kills 45,000 a year! So, what kills more people, health insurance or the lack of it? Did you know that more people die of diseases that they contract while in hospitals than die due to a lack of health care insurance? What is the government going to do about this big prob
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!