45,000 a year
A new study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that about 45,000 people die every year in this country because they don’t have insurance.
The whole study is at: http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/september/harvard_study_finds_.php
Previously, people quoted the Institute of Medicine study that said the total is about 18,000, but that study was less comprehensive than this one. It included only whites and African-Americans, whereas this new study is more broad-based.
And that 45,000 doesn’t include people who die because their insurance companies refuse to cover the necessary treatments.
Since one of every five insurance claims in this country is rejected, according to a study released last week, it’s hard to even imagine what the real numbers are.
This is the conclusion reached by the study’s authors:
“Lack of health insurance is associated with as many as 44,789 deaths per year in the United States, more than those caused by kidney disease (n=42,868).
”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.”
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a new peer support program for people newly diagnosed with chronic or serious illness or with a new disability and their caregivers.
Patient Pals are people who have experience with various illnesses and disabilities, who can help someone newly diagnosed or with a new disability work through the fear, frustration, confusion and grief often experienced in the first few months.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
People with new illness or disability fare better when they have a role model -- someone who can help them negotiate their new path in life.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Post a comment