Study: 45,000 Uninsured Die a Year

While Debate Continues Over Cost of Insuring Everyone, Harvard Study Links Deaths to Lack of Coverage

(CBS)  A year-and-a-half ago, Daniel Durate started dropping a lot of weight, going from 290 to 240 pounds.

Having quit his full-time job at a dairy to freelance in the catering business -- gambling he wouldn't need the insurance -- Durate didn't go to the doctor until he could no longer eat. The diagnosis: Stage 4 stomach cancer. Medicaid paid for his surgery last April.

"Would you have been in a different place if you had health insurance?" asked CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod.

"Totally," Durate said. "I would have been able to go to a doctor like maybe last year."

"We found that 45,000 Americans are dying annually, due to lack of health insurance," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler.

Woolhandler was part of a team that tracked more than 9,000 people for up to 13 years, comparing the health of those with insurance to those without. After factoring in education and income, smoking, drinking and obesity, researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death, linking 45,000 American deaths a year to lack of insurance. In 1993 it was 25 percent.

Read the full report

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care Reform

"We have lots of good treatments for high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol that can now prevent complications, that can now lengthen our patients' lives, but we can't do anything for our patients if they can't afford to come to our offices," Woolhandler said.

John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis said the study results are exaggerated. Researchers don't know how the uninsured died or if they were uninsured the entire time they were being tracked. But even this critic agrees with the basic premise.

"I think you can't trust the results," Goodman said. "Having said that, we ought to do something for the uninsured."

It's not getting easier even for those who do have insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average cost of a family health insurance policy is now more than $13,000, having more than doubled this decade.

[payback108]

and how can

[mary-miami]

Why not have a national election and ask the American people whether or not they want free health care for all? It is the American way to ask the people what they want. This is a government for the people, by the people. Have a national election and have people vote Yes or No, Do they want free national healthcare for all.

[CougarU]

Because such an election would be meaningless. The doctors, nurses, admin assistants, floor sweepers, and tray-bringers all want to be paid. They like feeding their kids and want to pay their bill. It goes further than that, to the people who built the place, and put in the electrical lines and the plumbing.

Nobody is going to work for free.

There are two ways to get "free" health care. One is to have the government forcibly take the money from you, the money needed to pay these people. The other is to pay for it without being forced to, and when you see a zero balance at the bottom of the bill that pays these people, you don't owe any more. At that point it's free.

[KrlyQ]

The Constitution does not support altruism in any form. Quoting these figures won't work because statistacally 1,197,877 people die every year in the United States which must mean that the remaining 1,152,877 that die had insurance. In the year 2000 43,000 deaths were due to auto accidents, so should we give up our vehicles? 85,000 deaths were due to alchohol consumption so we should have the federal government pass a law making that illegal; oh wait, they tried that once didn't they?
"Health care reform" will not promote the general welfare. The general welfare is what would benefit everyone. This "reform" or altruism would only benefit some and not others. Those of us who oppose this understand that and understand why it does not fit into what is written in our Constitution. Writing articles for the purpose of getting an emotional response will gain support from those lacking historical understanding of this country, lacking the understanding of how this government should operate according to the laws of the land and those lacking critical thinking.

[unitaryexecutive]

This study appears to have been poorly designed and carried out:

(1) The study did not confirm whether the surveyed persons' claims regarding their insurance status was true or not. So they just took everyone at their word with regards to their insurance status.

(2) The study assessed the individual's status as insured or uninsured BASED ON A SINGLE POINT IN TIME!! This means that if you were uninsured for for one year out of the 13 years you were followed, and that one year coincided with your initial interview, you were considered uninsured despite being insured 92% of the time. Of course, the converse of this is true as well.

(3) The study did not take into account how the deaths occurred. Read that sentence again. The. Study. Doesn't. Care. How. The. Participants. Died. So if you were shot in the head by a burgler, and happened to be uninsured, the study uses your situation to prove that those who are uninsured are more likely to die. This is absurd. A person who is shot in the head died because of a reason wholly unrelated to his status as an uninsured, while a person who died of some health issue that went untreated does matter to the debate. Yet, the study doesn't differentiate between the two situations.

(4) In the words of the article: "researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death." Really? A 40% higher chance of death? OK. I'm insured right now and you know what chance I have of dying? 100%. You know what chance any random uninsured person I pull off the street has of dying? Also 100%. The findings of this study would be much more helpful if they determined the life expectancy of an uninsured person versus an insured one. Because we all die at some point.

(4) FWIW, the study was performed by Physicians for a National Health Program, a single issue advocating organization that promotes -- you guessed it! -- a single payer system for all. I'm sure their results are not biased, but the way the study was designed, I have my doubts.

[Al_Pinto]

"by One_Majesty September 17, 2009 8:07 PM EDT
45,000 Uninsured die a year,
How many insured die a year ???"

The study also said that the uninsured has a 40% higher chance of dying from a medical ailment than the insured. Maybe the insurers think that 40% is a low number, but seriously, would you like to play with that chance? About the public option, Medicare is a public option. Is there any private insurer that will insure senior citizens with ailments if there were no Medicare (not just Medicare Part A or D, but the entire thing)?

[payback108]

And I am a independent I did not vote for bush or obama

[payback108]

Ant your wife is ripping people off now you know where health reform
is needed an as for me paying my bills out of my pocket has nothing to do with your insurance.

[chrishazzoo]

What would have helped in this article was stats on the ages/diagnosis of the uninsured individuals. It is embarrassing that the USA is somewhere in the 20's for infant mortality throughout the world. Meaning a minimum of 20 other countries have better infant mortality rates than us. I haven't had insurance for almost 4 years. I had chest pains and fainting about 2 years ago and refused to go to the emergency room because I feared the bill and the collections that came later, more so than my own death. I am only 45. I guess as long as all those uninsured are nameless, ageless, conditionless...it is hard to really understand how sad the situation in the US is.

[mal2cats]

I just wanted to point out that most doctors and other health-care providers have a rather selfish motive to support any healthcare reform that insures more people. People without insurance do not seek medical care as much as those of us who do for obvious reasons. That means healthcare providers are losing income. The more people who are insured, the more people will seek medical care. Voila: doctors and other healthcare providers make more money.

[tbook1]

"The Harvard study says nearly 45,000 American deaths every year are linked to a lack of insurance." Neither she, nor reporter Jim Axelrod, noted that the report was really produced by Physicians for a National Health Program, "the only national physician organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to implementing a single-payer national health program."

I'm sure Ms. Couric and Mr. Axlerod will want to disclose the true sponsor of this study and their agenda.

[Sloughfoot]

Funny thing about numbers: You can get them to tell you anything you want to hear.

[bill0bob]

"We found that 45,000 Americans are dying annually, due to lack of health insurance," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler.

To the effing IDIOTS who try to compare how many die with insurance to those who die without insurance, as if it were relevent: CAN ANY OF YOU READ (or even think)?? The article says 45000 die BECAUSE they lack insurance and therefore don't get the treatment they need!!! It DOES NOT have anything to do with the total number of people who die every year! (other than the fact that this number is a subset of the total) People die from many different causes. This says the cause of death for 45000 people in this country, every single year, is that they don't have health insurance so they can't get health care until it is too late, and then they die.

Republicans WANT those 45,000 people to die, rather than do anything that might cut into the HUGE PROFITS of the insurance con-men and the multi-multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses of their CEOs. A big eff yew to all repukes! I hope YOU are next.

Personally, I say "skrew the insurance companies". What we really need is UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. Health care is a RIGHT, not a "privilege". Every other country in the world understands this. If the people of a nation are sick, the nation is sick.

But we can't have universal health care because the repukes think it's "socialism" and they whine and complain and obstruct. So, the closest we can come to actual health care for all the people is publicly subsidised health insurance for those who don't have anything else. And the repukes still whine and complain about that!

God has dammmmmed you all to hell for the suffering you bastwads are creating, and our country is needless suffering because we allow you to obstruct the will of the vast majority of people.

[daffy64]

This is really sad. I'm glad I live in Canada.

[eclecticman1]

Our present system kills people in a lot more ways than dying from lack of insurance. The reliance of doctors on old fashion paper files also contributes when handwriting is misread or files aren't shared. One aspect of the bill is making files electronic. This will save lives also.

[formrusmcsgt]

"We found that 45,000 Americans are dying annually, due to lack of health insurance," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler.
----
And the repubs say "so what"?

[txlonghorn]

Pull yourself up by your own crutches, kid.

Medical Bariatric Forearm Crutches Vinyl coated: $251.90 new

[pepperwood2]

Study: 45,000 Uninsured Die a Year ..... In Hospital Deaths from Medical Errors at 195,000 per Year USA. The Choice should be yours!

[credibility2]

Many of these people de do so because of their own stupidity in not seeking medical care or not trying to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible, including not smoking, drinking or doing drugs. Those without insurance, can easily go to free clinics or apply for Medicaid. There's plenty available for people who make the effort to get involved and first take responsibility for themselves, instead of expecting others, like the government, to do everything for them.

[kevjustice]

Apologist for the crooked insurance industry.

[democracy1]

credibilty--Many, many working people make too much to go on Medicaid and too little to afford insurance. And while you may be able to get a certain level of care at a free clinic, there's no way that those facilities have the means of treating serious diseases such as cancer, so the patient is still SOOL.

[jjp735i]

Congress should be questioning other members of Congress on why they are taking large sums of money from the insurance companies, then killing health care bills that would be better for us than what Max Baucus is offering. Congress needs to realize that we are all not as dumb as a Glen Beck follower.

[docpeter1953]

Title, "Study: 45,000 Uninsured Die a Year"

____________________________

Has very little to do with health care.

There are an estimated +200K in-hospital deaths by medical error every year, many are preventable. Having insurance has nothing to do with it, unless they are trying to cull the herd.

Hospital administrater: "Doctor, thios patient is uinder/uninsured."

Doctor: "Oops! Bet that is going to hurt! Someone get me some coffee."

This uninsured "fact" is more government propaganda in an effort to get "We the people" on board with their health care plan.

[gramto8]

Title, "Study: 45,000 Uninsured Die a Year"

____________________________

Has very little to do with health care.

There are an estimated +200K in-hospital deaths by medical error every year, many are preventable. Having insurance has nothing to do with it, unless they are trying to cull the herd.

Hospital administrater: "Doctor, thios patient is uinder/uninsured."

Doctor: "Oops! Bet that is going to hurt! Someone get me some coffee."

This uninsured "fact" is more government propaganda in an effort to get "We the people" on board with their health care plan.
by docpeter1953 September 18, 2009 8:27 AM EDT


Docpeter,

I have worked around medical personnel in the emergency room that would look at a person's insurance information before they even looked to see what the person's reason for the visit was. I raised enough hell about this for over a year that our facility quit putting the information on our ER charts until after the patient left the ER, either to be admitted to the hospital or to be discharged. You would be surprised how many, including some jerk doctors, that will check that before all else. I heard one cardiologist ask a patient on whom he had been called in on consult, 'How do you intend to pay my bill? You are a single mom with no job.' This was his first words to the lady. Needless to say, the rest of the consult, she was in tears, and I was seeing red! If I could have done it without getting caught, I could have cheerfully killed that jerk on the spot!

[DTaft5]

More people will die every year after health care reform. That number is low in comparison to what it will be. Go to John Stosles report on socialized medicine and get educated. With the millions of people we have in this country that no. is minute.

[txlonghorn]

"More people will die every year after health care reform."

That is ridiculous. ALL of the major developed countries which have "socialized" or universal health care have longer life expectancies, and better infant mortality rates than the US. , as well as better stats on a number of other criteria. And we spend twice as much per person than any other country.
Why do we have such poor results while spending more?
Because the system we have exists to serve the profits of the corporations that control our government, not for the people, not of the people, not by the people.
Because we have let a democracy devolve into a corporatocracy.