Europe’s Riots, America’s Future

Werner wrote:
On Oct 2, 1:05 pm, Earl wrote:
On 2/10/10 18:11, in article
, "Werner"

wrote:
Where in the US is there a lack of health care?

Low income areas. Either rural or urban.


I have seen no evidence or reports of such.

He's trying to say that access is constrained for these people if they
aren't being assisted by the government because they can't afford the
health care.

On 2/10/10 21:40, in article
, "Werner"
wrote:

Low income areas. Either rural or urban.


I have seen no evidence or reports of such.


New study finds 45,000 deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage

Uninsured, working-age Americans have 40 percent higher death risk than
privately insured counterparts

September 17, 2009

David Cecere
Cambridge Health Alliance

Nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance,
according to a new study published online today by the American Journal of
Public Health. That figure is about two and a half times higher than an
estimate from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2002.

The study, conducted at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health
Alliance, 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.

³The uninsured have a higher risk of death when compared to the privately
insured, even after taking into account socioeconomics, health behaviors,
and baseline health,² said lead author Andrew Wilper, M.D., who currently
teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine. ³We 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.²

The study, which analyzed data from national surveys carried out by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), assessed death rates after
taking into account education, income, and many other factors, including
smoking, drinking, and obesity. It estimated that lack of health insurance
causes 44,789 excess deaths annually.

Previous estimates from the IOM and others had put that figure near 18,000.
The methods used in the current study were similar to those employed by the
IOM 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, as 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 do not is the improved quality of care for those who can get it.

The researchers 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
who examining physicians said were in fair or poor health (222 percent
increase).

Steffie Woolhandler, study co-author, professor of medicine at Harvard
Medical School, and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance,
noted: ³Historically, every other developed nation has achieved universal
health care through some form of nonprofit national health insurance. Our
failure to do so means that all Americans pay higher health care costs, and
45,000 pay with their lives.²

³The Institute of Medicine, using older studies, estimated that one
American dies every 30 minutes from lack of health insurance,² remarked
David Himmelstein, study co-author, associate professor of medicine at
Harvard Medical School, and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health
Alliance. ³Even this grim figure is an underestimate ‹ now one dies every 12
minutes.²

Other authors include Karen E. Lasser, Danny McCormick, David H. Bor, and
David U. Himmelstein. The study was supported by a National Service Research
Award.

"Werner" wrote in message
...
On Oct 2, 4:50 am, "K K" wrote:
"Markku Grönroos" wrote in message

...



What makes US Americans so vulnerable to mental illnesses?

The lack of health care in the US.


Where in the US is there a lack of health care?

Where people can't afford to pay for the very expensive health care system
the US has.