45,000 American deaths associated with lack of insurance

[Peacetrain]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/18/deaths.health.insurance/index.html




(CNN) -- A freelance cameraman's appendix ruptured and by the time he was admitted to surgery, it was too late. A self-employed mother of two is found dead in bed from undiagnosed heart disease. A 26-year-old aspiring fashion designer collapsed in her bathroom after feeling unusually fatigued for days.
Paul Hannum's family members say he probably would've gone to the hospital earlier if he had had health insurance.



What all three of these people have in common is that they experienced symptoms, but didn't seek care because they were uninsured and they worried about the hospital expense, according to their families. All three died.

Research released this week in the American Journal of Public Health estimates that 45,000 deaths per year in the United States are associated with the lack of health insurance. If a person is uninsured, "it means you're at mortal risk," said one of the authors, Dr. David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

[1Hippiechick]

1. Quality of healthcare and education should NOT be based on one's ability to pay. Shameful! n/t

[Peacetrain]

2. It is a black eye on America.. and the more we put that forward, the more we shame

the right

[PatSeg]

3. I have a feeling

that figure is actually much, much higher. Then on top of that there are those who ARE insured that don't seek medical help because of co-pays and high deductibles OR insured people who cannot afford their expensive medications.

[Peacetrain]

4. I know you are right about that.. One can only imagine

[PatSeg]

5. I think it is difficult to quantity

but I'm always surprised by how ridiculously low some of these estimates are. One would think it is intentional.

[brentspeak]

6. What about all the deaths of those who even HAVE health insurance?

Universal
Public
Option (at the very least)

[Peacetrain]

7. Your late!

[Peacetrain]

8. Public Option is the only thing we have to keep the insurance companies in line

[Gman2]

9. The sickfuck repubs think that thinning out the weak, in the herd, will make America strong again.

[KansasVoter]

10. An Unborn infant means the world to these people but not sick adults! K&R!!!

[debbierlus]

11. They stop caring about human life the second it draws breath

[inna]

12. KR+7. what a SHAME. :(