|
NEWS FROM
CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE
September 17, 2009
New Study Finds 45,000 Deaths Annually Linked to Lack of Health Coverage
Cambridge, MA…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.
"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, who currently teaches at the University of Washington
School of Medicine. "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."
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).
Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, study co-author, professor of medicine
at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care physician at Cambridge
Health Alliance, noted: "Historically, 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."
"The Institute of Medicine, using older studies, estimated
that one American dies every 30 minutes from lack of health insurance,"
remarked Dr. David Himmelstein, study co-author, associate professor
of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care physician
at Cambridge Health Alliance. "Even this grim figure is an
underestimate - now one dies every 12 minutes."
"Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults." American
Journal of Public Health, e-publication ahead of print: December
2009, Vol. 99, No. 12. Authors: Andrew P. Wilper, MD, MPH, Steffie
Woolhandler, MD, MPH, Karen E. Lasser, MD, MPH, Danny McCormick,
MD, MPH, David H. Bor, MD, and David U. Himmelstein, MD. The study
was supported by a National Service Research Award.
Cambridge Health Alliance is an innovative, award-winning
health system that provides high quality care in Cambridge, Somerville,
and Boston's metro-north communities. It includes three hospital
campuses, a network of primary care and specialty practices, the
Cambridge Public Health Dept., and the Network Health plan. CHA
is a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate and is also affiliated
with Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine,
and Tufts University School of Medicine. Visit us online at www.challiance.org.
|
|
Media Contact
David Cecere
Cambridge Health Alliance
Phone: 617-503-8428
Cell: 617-921-9613
dcecere@challiance.org
|
