Uninsured and Dying Because of It:.... 22,000 uninsured deaths

[RedEarth]

Updating the Institute of Medicine Analysis on the Impact of Uninsurance on Mortality
By Stan Dorn
Urban Institute
January 2008

The absence of health insurance creates a range of consequences, including lower quality of life, increased morbidity and mortality, and higher financial burdens. This paper focuses on just one aspect of this harm—namely, greater risk of death—and seeks to illustrate its general order of magnitude.

In 2002, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated that 18,000 Americans died in 2000 because they were uninsured. Since then, the number of uninsured has grown. Based on the IOM’s methodology and subsequent Census Bureau estimates of insurance coverage, 137,000 people died from 2000 through 2006 because they lacked health insurance, including 22,000 people in 2006.

Much subsequent research has continued to confirm the link between insurance and mortality risk described by IOM. In fact, subsequent studies and analysis suggest that, if anything, the IOM methodology may underestimate the number of deaths that result from a lack of insurance coverage.

More broadly, these estimates should be viewed as reasonable indicators of the general magnitude of excess mortality that results from lack of insurance, not as precise “body counts.” The true number of deaths resulting from uninsurance may be somewhat higher or lower than the estimates in this paper, but that number is surely significant.

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/january/make_that_22000_uni.php

[watrwefitinfor]

1. Giving it a kick & rec, but

It's not like anyone's going to be reading it, what with all the burning business of trying to bring all our Dem candidates to their knees, split the Democratic party along racial lines for years to come, and throw the general election to the GOOP.

But thank you, RedEarth, for posting some important health stats. Maybe somebody here will care again, some day.

(Great name, btw.)

Wat

(Edit to close parenthetical comment.)

[RedEarth]

4. You're welcome ..........

All the infighting gets tiresome doesn't it. Frankly, I don't really care who wins the general election, as long as it's a democrat.

If you have an interest, the link to the article I posted has a wealth of information dealing with single-payer on their site.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. but on the bright side... I've lost 15 lbs

cause my teeth are crap, so I can't eat without pain. Best diet plan ever. I may try to market it and make a fortune.
:sarcasm:

[fed-up]

3. I lost my brother, 45, and my BF's brother, 44, last year-both not insured-I'm voting for Edwards nt

[flashl]

5. K&R n/t