Washington, D.C. — Nearly two people die each day in Michigan 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 Michiganians 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 Michiganians.
“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 Michigan makes three specific points about uninsured adults:
* Families USA estimates that nearly two working-age Michiganians die each day due to lack of health insurance (approximately 650 people in 2006).
* Between 2000 and 2006, the estimated number of adults between the ages of 25 and 64 in Michigan who died because they did not have health insurance was more than 4,200.
* 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.
“The results of this report are astounding and unacceptable,” U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said today. “This report provides further evidence of why health care in this country should be a right not a privilege. That's why I will continue my fight to ensure every American has access to quality, affordable health care.”
“There is a tendency to measure the pros and cons of universal health care in terms of dollars,” U.S. Rep. John Dingell, “While that is significant, this report from Families USA reminds us that the most important measure is the human cost. The current system is costing lives.
“It is also important to remember those people who do manage to get health care, but have to work multiple jobs or go to extreme measures to make ends meet,” Dingell said. “Far too many people are suffering under the current system. We can create a universal health care plan that is not just affordable, but it will save lives. As this report proves, we need such a system—and we need it now.”
“We are facing a health care crisis in this country, and there's proof of that right here in Michigan,” U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) said today. “This report makes it clear that lives are being unnecessarily lost as a result of Michiganders not being able to afford health insurance and not seeking treatment when they need it. These facts further illustrate the need for action in Congress to expand access to health care coverage.”
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.
