It is
estimated that between 2005 and 2010, 12,000 Americans died because they did
not have health insurance. Other
estimates are between 20,000 and 45,000 annually, and some say three deaths per
hour. And this in the richest country in
the world.
The
uninsured are 40% more likely to die, according to a Harvard Medical
School/Cambridge Health Alliance 2009 study.
Why?
- · The uninsured are seen by health care providers about half as often as the insured
- · Uninsured women will skip preventive mammograms and pap smears.
- Diabetics may cut down or skip necessary medications
- · The uninsured are more likely to be seen when their preventable illnesses have reached a very advanced stage.
- · Health insurance costs are way out-of-reach for their income level.
- · Many have a choice between paying for medications and eating.
Unfortunately,
politics is huge part of the problem in the US.
When Obamacare became law, states had the option of expanding their
Medicaid coverage to more of the poor
and nearly-poor. However, 22 of the
states, all run by Republicans, refused to do so. This led to several million people remaining
without coverage. Hundreds of thousands
will suffer needlessly and some will die.
An
experiment by Oregon Health Insurance showed that low-income uninsured people
will face a greater likelihood of depression, catastrophic medical costs and
death. They pay more for care because
they have to pay the going rate. The uninsured in these states face loss of
financial well-being, access to
care, longevity, and mental and physical
well-being.
This doesn’t
happen in the other industrialized countries.
Why? Because they all have
universal health coverage. Not only
that, they spend much less on healthcare than we do, and the results are far
better. Some examples:
- The US life expectancy at birth is 43rd in the world, according to Central Intelligence Agency 2015 statistics.
- The maternal mortality rate is ranked 45th in the world (CIA, 2015).
- The infant mortality rate is 167th out of 224(CIA, 2015). Cuba and Bosnia have a better rating than the US.
- The death rate is ranked 93rd out of 225 or 8.15 deaths per 1,000.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks the US health system 37th in the world. This, despite the fact that the US spends the most money on health care in the world. In fact, we are almost double the second highest spender (UK). US spending per person averages out to $9086, while the second place Switzerland citizen pays $6325.
The cost
being so high is partially attributable to use of high tech equipment such as
MRIs. Another reason given is the fact
that the prices for health care are set, and there is no collective buying
power. In the UK, for example, the
government buys the services, and bargains with health providers for the best
quality for the lowest prices. This
creates competition. The US now has the
highest prices for drugs and medical devices anywhere in the world, and other
costs are as high as the provider chooses.
And it’s all still going up.
Thanks to
Obamacare, the uninsured rate dropped to 9.1% of people under 65, the
lowest rate in 50 years. That is still
almost one tenth of the population and there is no moral reason justifying this
situation. Many politicians in the US
love to be seen as devout church-goers, yet for politics they ignore the
teaching of their religion: caring for
the less fortunate. The United States
has no excuse for not joining the rest of the world in concern for their
citizens.
