Uninsured is the Third Leading Cause of Death

Heart disease and cancer are the top two causes of death in the United States. According to the web site, not having health insurance is the third leading cause of death for American citizens. The purpose of Families USA is to promote high-quality, affordable health care. Their Web site contains a wealth of valuable information. For several years now, much of their mission involved research on the effects of no health insurance coverage.

In 2002, the Institute of Medicine released a study titled “Care Without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late.” They estimated that 18,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 64 died in 2000 because they did not have health benefits. The Urban Institute estimated this number increased to 22,000 in 2006. Families USA carried these studies a step further by breaking the numbers down by state. They analyzed all deaths between 2000 and 2006 for individuals aged 25 to 64.

Some of the results follow:

• Alaska, 400
• California, 19,900
• Florida, 13,600
• Nevada, 1,600
• North Carolina, 5,600
• Texas, 17,700
• Virginia 3,200.

Missouri, the state I currently reside in, had 2,800 deaths. During this time the census bureau reported 3.14 million people between the ages of 25 and 64 lived in Missouri. From that group, 15.9 percent had no health insurance coverage. Deaths directly related to lack of health insurance results in almost 10 deaths each week in Missouri. For information and numbers on your state, visit the Families USA Web site at the address above.Families USA concluded the following from their study:

• Uninsured individuals are four times less likely to have regular/preventive care compared to the insured.
• Uninsured adults are more than 30 percent less likely than insured adults to have consulted a doctor in the past year.
• Uninsured adults are more likely to receive a diagnosis in advanced stages of an illness.
• Uninsured individuals are up to three times more likely to report problems in getting medical care.
• Uninsured adults are more than three times as likely as insured adults to put off receiving needed medical care.
• Uninsured adults are 25 percent more likely to die prematurely than covered individuals.
• Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 are at a much greater risk of premature death than individuals with insurance. This makes the condition of being uninsured the third leading cause of death.
• Uninsured individuals have difficulty negotiating doctor and hospital discounts like the insurance companies do. Because of this, they often pay 2.5 times more than the insured individual.
• Three out of five uninsured individuals report having difficulties with their medical bills.

All of this is very alarming to me, as I hope it will be to you. With the aging population and increase in living expenses, affordable health care is more important than ever. As Americans we need to speak out and fight for changes in our current system. Now’s a good time to do this as we approach the upcoming election.

Margaret Norton is a Personal Life Coach/Writer/Speaker who resides in St. Peters, Mo.

(photo credit: gregoryjameswalsh)

April 13th, 2009 by admin | Posted in Health Insurance | (0)