http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/09/44000-americans-dead-a-year-from-lack-of-health-insurance/
44,000 Americans Dead a Year From Lack of Health Insurance
More than 44,000 Americans die every year — 122 every day — due to lack of health insurance.
That's the startling finding of a new study — Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults –- that appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The 44,000 dead a year estimate is about two-and-a-half times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine in 2002.
The Harvard-based researchers found that uninsured, working-age Americans have a 40 percent higher risk of death than their privately insured counterparts, up from a 25 percent excess death rate found in 1993.
"The uninsured have a higher risk of death when compared to the privately insured, even after taking into account socioeconomics, health behaviors and baseline health," said lead author Dr. Andrew Wilper. "We doctors have many new ways to prevent deaths from hypertension, diabetes and heart disease — but only if patients can get into our offices and afford their medications."
"Historically, every other developed nation has achieved universal health care through some form of nonprofit national health insurance," said study co-author Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a professor of medicine at Harvard and a primary care physician in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Our failure to do so means that all Americans pay higher health care costs, and 45,000 pay with their lives."
"Even the most liberal version of the House bill would leave 17 million people uninsured," Woolhandler said. "The whittled down version that Senator Max Baucus is proposing would leave 25 million uninsured. That translates into about 25,000 deaths annually from lack of health insurance. Absent the $400 billion in savings you could get from a single payer system, universal coverage is unaffordable. Politicians in Washington are protecting insurance industry profits while sacrificing American lives."
The study, which analyzed data from national surveys carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), assessed death rates after taking education, income and many other factors including smoking, drinking and obesity into account.
It estimated that lack of health insurance causes 44,789 excess deaths annually.
Previous estimates from the Institute of Medicine and others had put that figure near 18,000.
The methods used in the Harvard were similar to those employed by the Institute of Medicine in 2002, which in turn were based on a pioneering 1993 study of health insurance and mortality.
Deaths associated with lack of health insurance now exceed those caused by many common killers such as kidney disease.
An increase in the number of uninsured and an eroding medical safety net for the disadvantaged likely explain the substantial increase in the number of deaths associated with lack of insurance.
The uninsured are more likely to go without needed care.
Another factor contributing to the widening gap in the risk of death between those who have insurance and those who don't is the improved quality of care for those who can get it.
The research, carried out at the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, analyzed U.S. adults under age 65 who participated in the annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) between 1986 and 1994.
Respondents first answered detailed questions about their socioeconomic status and health and were then examined by physicians.
The CDC tracked study participants to see who died by 2000.
The study found a 40 percent increased risk of death among the uninsured. As expected, death rates were also higher for males (37 percent increase), current or former smokers (102 percent and 42 percent increases), people who said that their health was fair or poor (126 percent increase), and those that examining physicians said were in fair or poor health (222 percent increase).
"The Institute of Medicine, using older studies, estimated that one American dies every 30 minutes from lack of health insurance," said study co-author Dr. David Himmelstein. "Even this grim figure is an underestimate – now one dies every 12 minutes."
The authors broke down the 44,840 deaths by state.
California leads the nation with 5,302 deaths due to lack of health insurance per year.
Texas follows closely behind with 4,675 deaths due to lack of health insurance per year.
Texas also had the highest rate (in 2005) of uninsured citizens — 29.7 percent.
Zelaya's Return to Tegucigalpa Brings Coup Closer to its End
a mockery of" the Arias process * Zelaya building public international
support and meeting with resistance leaders * Calls for Hondurans from
around the country to gather in Tegucigalpa
At midday today, 86 days since the military coup d'etat in Honduras,
President Zelaya returned to join the resistance movement in the final
stretch of the long fight to restore constitutional order. As a spy
helicopter buzzed the demonstrators and police poured into the area,
thousands of supporters gather outside the Brazilian embassy to receive the
President. (Telesur has continuous coverage here in Spanish.)
In his first comments, Zelaya declared a "day of celebration." Zelaya called
on everyone to gather at the Brazilian Embassy, and reasserted the
commitment to non-violence. "I'm not afraid of the judicial process," he
affirmed and added he would face any accusations but that so far all the
coup had produced was calumnious statements.
Zelaya is lining up his support and his strategy in these moments. He
announced that he was waiting for communication from President Lula, the
OAS, the United Nations, the European Union and others in an interview with
Telesur. He said his plan is to initiate internal dialogue and that the idea
is to demonstrate the support of the international community without
involving it in the dialogue. He added that he has not spoken with de facto
government and was meeting with his cabinet and resistance groups.
The legitimate president of Honduras called on the Armed Forces to maintain
the calm. "The Armed Forces are part of the people, they come from the
villages and neighborhoods and should never point their guns at their own
people," he stated. He urged a process to "recover peace and tranquility" in
the country.
Although the police are deploying to control the growing crowd, resistance
leaders are maintaining control. In a Telesur interview, Juan Barahona, a
leader of the National Front Against the Coup, expressed his opinion that
the "Army cannot launch an offensive here-there are too any people."
A visibly shaken Roberto Michelleti appeared before on CNN, denying that the
Zelaya was in the country and claiming that the news was an invention of
"media terrorism" to stir people up and provoke a huge mobilization. "It's
not true. He (Zelaya) is relaxing in a suite in Managua," Micheletti told
the press with a chuckle. He later added that if the news turned out to be
true, Zelaya would be arrested.
By that time, Zelaya's return had already been confirmed. As the coup chief
went into denial, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom confirmed the news,
stating that he hoped this would mean the end of the coup. US State
Department spokesperson Ian Kelly confirmed the presence of Zelaya in
Honduras in a brief statement calling for all sides to avoid violence, and
President Chavez of Venezuela praised Zelaya for what he called his
"peaceful and courageous" return. Zelaya is reportedly meeting with
resistance leaders at this moment.
By showing up without violent confrontations at the Brazilian Embassy before
thousands of cheering supporters, Zelaya plays his strongest cards. As most
eyes were on the Obama adminsitration-and with good reason given its power
in affecting economic and political sanctions-Brazil has been a low-profile
but high-impact actor in the drama. Its power as a regional leader carries
clout not only with other nations throughout Latin American but also with
the United States, which cannot risk strained relations with the South
American giant.
Hondurans are expected to continue to arrive in Tegucigalpa from all over
the country. This massive display of support also strengthens Zelaya's hand.
His most important base and chance for restoration has been in the popular
mobilizations that have not missed a day since June 28.
Zelaya's peaceful journey and bloodless return also underline the
non-violent character of the resistance movement since the beginning. The
president gained the capital without provoking confrontation, thus taking
the wind out of the sails of the State Department's previous reasons for
opposing his return. Now he is back in the capital, close to a return to
power-a condition of the San Jose Accords. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton has no excuse for not supporting Zelaya's return and efforts at
internal reconciliation.
Program (www.americaspolicy.org) in Mexico City, where she has been an
analyst and writer for two decades. She is also a Foreign Policy In Focus
columnist.
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