Study Projects Premature Deaths Without Insurance

More than 275,000 Americans will die prematurely over the next decade due to a lack of health coverage. That's according to Families USA which is a national advocacy group for health care consumers. This report estimates that 7,500 Pennsylvanians will die prematurely over the next 10 years because they don't have health insurance. So the organization is urging Congress to pass health care overhaul legislation. Kim Bailey, senior health care policy analyst for Families USA, says after last week's health care summit hosted by President Obama, approval of a health care bill is unclear....."the consequences of inaction would be devastating and the findings of this study are disheartening."
Bailey says the report uses the methodology developed in earlier reports by the Institute of Medicine and the Urban Institute. According to the Urban Institute, at least 22,000 Americans died prematurely in 2006 due to a lack of health care coverage.
Bailey says their study indicates that uninsured adults are 25% more likely to die prematurely than those with coverage because the uninsured often go without screenings and preventive care and often delay or forgo needed medical care.