As reported in the NY Times, the uninsured are 40% more likely to die than those insured.
Lack of health insurance is associated with as many as 44789 deaths per year in the United States, more than those caused by kidney disease (n=42868).41 The increased risk of death attributable to uninsurance suggests that alternative measures of access to medical care for the uninsured, such as community health centers, do not provide the
protection of private health insurance. Despite widespread acknowledgment that enacting universal coverage would be life
saving, doing so remains politically thorny. Now that health reform is again on the political agenda, health professionals have the opportunity to advocate universal coverage
Read the entire study here
Compare this to the lives lost on 9/11 and the lives lost fighting two wars and then consider the cost of fighting those two wars. More American lives are lost to improper management of our resources than to terrorism. Definitely food for thought.
(hat tip/Peter Daou)
