Washington, D.C. — Two people die each day in Ohio because they don’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 Ohioans 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 Ohioans.
“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 Ohio makes three specific points about uninsured adults:
* Families USA estimates that two working-age Ohioans die each day due to lack of health insurance (approximately 750 people in 2006).
* Between 2000 and 2006, the estimated number of adults between the ages of 25 and 64 in Ohio who died because they did not have health insurance was more than 5,100.
* 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.
“In this country, families should not have to choose between buying health coverage and putting food on the table,” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said today. “They shouldn't have to choose between purchasing lifesaving medications and paying their heating bill. And they shouldn't have to rely on emergency rooms as their only source of care.
“No one in this country should die because they don't have health insurance. I will continue to work so that more families can get the affordable, high-quality health coverage they need,” Brown said.
“Of the nearly 47 million uninsured Americans, 1.3 million are Ohioans,” U.S. Rep. Betty S. Sutton (D-OH) said today. “Health insurance is not something we can see, but it impacts our lives in very real and sometimes devastating ways.
“For far too long, the men and women in Ohio and in our country have had to struggle to provide their families with adequate health care,” Sutton said. “It is my sincere hope that reports like the one released by Families USA today will further our case for the urgent need to provide quality and affordable health care to every American.”
“The report released today by Families USA shows just how dire the consequences of our nation's healthcare system can be,” U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-OH) said today. “The system we have for healthcare delivery in this country is unacceptable, and I fear it will only result in further loss of life unless we begin to tackle the inefficiencies that plague healthcare in this country. This report reinforces the need for Congress to move beyond partisan politics and work quickly to address the healthcare crisis that's hurting all of us.”
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.
