18,000 deaths blamed on lack of insurance >

[Stephanie]

Outrageous. I heard this number mentioned on NPR this morning. I don't know if there are any more recent studies, but I would have to guess that under Bush the number must have risen.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/healthscience/health/healthcare/2002-05-22-insurance-deaths.htm

18,000 deaths blamed on lack of insurance
By Steve Sternberg, USA TODAY
05/22/2002 - Updated 04:54 AM ET

WASHINGTON — More than 18,000 adults in the USA die each year because they are uninsured and can't get proper health care, researchers report in a landmark study released Tuesday.

The 193-page report, "Care Without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late," examines the plight of 30 million — one in seven — working-age Americans whose employers don't provide insurance and who don't qualify for government medical care.

About 10 million children lack insurance; elderly Americans are covered by Medicare.

It is the second in a planned series of six reports by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) examining the impact of the nation's fragmented health system. The IOM is a non-profit organization of experts that advises Congress on health issues. <more>

Institute of Medicine - http://www.iom.edu/

[NVMojo]

1. If there is a god, and a heaven and hell, may the Bush regime

burn in hell for eternity for their selfish acts.

[Submariner]

2. 18000?

That computes to about six 9/11 incidents per year. Thanks Chimpy.

[mopinko]

3. but, but, but they can go to the emergency room!

franken played a limpballs clip yesterday of him claiming that no one is denied care here in the great usa of a. why do those 18,000 people hate america?

[rodeodance]

6. "its the lack of health care stupid-NOT SS"--this should be the slogan

[amazona]

16. I was turned away from emergency rooms...

...when I was seriously ill. If you have flu-like symptoms or pneumonia, do not assume that any emergency room will agree that you have an emergency. True, I did not die, but I know other people who did die from pneumonia, and quite a number of people continue to die from this illness every year. It is not a joke.

You can expect treatment from an ER if you're in an accident. But if you're ill, I wouldn't count on it, because it probably won't happen unless you've got cash, credit, or insurance.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[LynnTheDem]

4. So...almost 100,000 Americans dead on bush's watch. Imagine if that

was the number under Castro.

[American in Asia]

5. Gotta love that right-wing "culture of life", huh?

:mad: :grr: :nuke: :argh:

[Stephanie]

7. Culture of Life is for those who can afford it

If God had wanted you to live, he would have given you more money.

[Stephanie]

8. One kick

Because, who knew? I sure didn't.

[mtnsnake]

9. Sadly, this is why some of the soldiers killed in Iraq signed up

for military service a few years ago. They thought they'd be better off by coming out of it with GI benefits. Poor people fighting a rich man's war.

[undeterred]

10. A friend of mine was without insurance after she divorced her

abusive husband. She had been running her own catering business. She felt lousy around the time of the divorce but delayed seeking medical care. When she finally saw a doctor and was tested she had stage 4 ovarian cancer and no health insurance. She died two months later, at age 42. This was in 2001.

I don't know if she would be officially counted among those who died from lack of health insurance, but I think this is pretty typical of the worst that can happen when you are uninsured...

[Stephanie]

11. That's a very sad story

And probably typical of those in the 18,000 - putting off medical care due to expense and no insurance, and then it's too late. Very, very sad.

Welcome to DU, undeterred. Nice to have you here.

[undeterred]

13. thank you Stephanie

it was incredibly sad. She was young and talented and just breaking free of her marriage...
The symptoms - abdominal discomfort - are so vague and common in women that she didn't have any idea she was seriously ill.

[im10ashus]

12. That's so sad on so many levels.

My deepest sympathy on your loss.

[amazona]

17. i doubt that one would be counted in those statistics

That is a true tragedy but I doubt that ovarian cancer would be included in the "lack of insurance" death statistics. Early detection of ovarian cancer is difficult and sometimes impossible even for those who have insurance. The survival rate from stage 4 ovarian cancer is not good for any woman, insured or non-insured.

For the statistic to be considered "fair," I would think they could only count patients who would have almost certainly recovered if they received treatment and yet died for lack of treatment -- the clear-cut cases.

If we included all the cases where lack of insurance was a contributing factor to early death, seems to me the numbers of deaths would run into the hundreds of thousands a year. Heart disease alone -- think of all the people who conceal chest pain because they can't afford to be sick? The real number is probably so high as to be unbelievable by those who don't want to believe.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[SoCalDem]

14. There are lots of older people who still don't go because there IS a copay

with medicare, and if their SS is just barely enough to live on, they hesitate to go to the doctor.. and fewer and fewer doctors are accepting medicar patients.. can you imagine how many FEWER there will be as the Boomers get "up there"???

[countryjake]

15. Kick