Washington, D.C. — More than one person dies each day in Arkansas because he or she doesn't have health insurance, says a new report by Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers.
The Families USA report, the first-ever state-specific report of this type, is based on a groundbreaking national study by the Institute of Medicine, which in 2002 forged the direct link between a lack of health coverage and deaths from health-related causes.
“Our report highlights how our inadequate system of health coverage condemns a great number of Arkansans to an early death simply because they don’t have the same access to health care as their insured neighbors,” Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, said today. “The conclusions are sadly clear—a lack of health coverage is a matter of life and death for many Arkansans.
“Health insurance really matters in how people make their health care decisions,” Pollack said. “We know that people without insurance often forgo checkups, screenings, and other preventive care.”
As a result, he said, uninsured adults are more likely to be diagnosed with a disease, such as cancer, in an advanced stage, which greatly reduces their chance of survival. The Institute of Medicine found that uninsured adults are 25 percent more likely to die prematurely than adults with private health insurance.
Another recent academic study found that uninsured adults between the ages of 55 and 64 are even more likely to die prematurely. For this group, a lack of health insurance is the third leading cause of death, following heart disease and cancer.
The Families USA report for Arkansas makes three specific points about uninsured adults:
* Families USA estimates that more than one working-age Arkansan dies each day due to lack of health insurance (approximately 390 people in 2006).
* Between 2000 and 2006, the estimated number of adults between the ages of 25 and 64 in Arkansas who died because they did not have health insurance was nearly 2,400.
* Across the United States, in 2006, twice as many people in that same age category died from a lack of health insurance as died from homicide.
“I strongly believe that addressing our nation's health care challenges is our moral obligation,” U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) said today. “Unfortunately, access to quality and affordable health care is out of reach for far too many Americans, and the price they are forced to pay is simply too high.”
“Health insurance is an important factor when people decide if they should seek treatment and without it, too many people are skipping life-saving, preventative care,” U.S. Rep. said Berry. “This lack of preventative care is more costly in the long run not only for our nation but for individuals as well. Access to affordable healthcare in our country is not a privilege, it is a necessity.”
“Although distressing, the findings of this study will come as no surprise to the thousands of Arkansas working families who struggle each day with the rising cost of everything from gasoline to health care,” U.S. Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR) said today. “Throughout my career serving Arkansas in the State Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives, ensuring quality health care for working families has remained a critical issue I believe we must address, and I will continue to use my seat on the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to help find solutions to this critical problem.
“I commend Families USA for bringing to light the alarming findings of this study, and I remain committed to elevating this issue in Congress so that every American will have access to the quality health care they deserve,” Ross said.
In its 2002 report, the Institute of Medicine estimated that 18,000 adults nationwide died in 2000 because they did not have health insurance. That estimate was later updated by the Urban Institute, which reported that at least 22,000 adults died in 2006 due to a lack of health insurance.
