Uninsured People Ages 50 to 64 Have 43% Higher Death Risk Than Insured, Study Finds

[CAL/AAEM News Service]

Uninsured People Ages 50 to 64 Have 43% Higher Death Risk Than Insured, Study Finds
 
July 7, 2004 

 
The risk of death among uninsured people ages 50 to 64 is 43% higher than it is for
people in that age group who have insurance, and more than 105,000 U.S. residents in that
age group may die prematurely in the next eight years because they lack insurance,
according to a study in Wednesday's Health Affairs, the Boston Globe reports. For the
study, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital used data from the National
Institute on Aging on 8,736 near elderly adults in 1992, dividing them into two groups of
those who were publicly or privately insured compared with those who were uninsured. By
examining the number of deaths by the year 2000, the researchers found that lack of
insurance increased risk of death by 43%, even after adjusting for the fact that the
uninsured are frequently sicker or have lower incomes (Dembner, Boston Globe, 7/7). In
addition, the researchers found that low-income uninsured participants were 53% more
likely to die early, and those with diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure were
also found to be more vulnerable (Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, 7/7). 

According to the study, the difference in mortality rates between insured and uninsured
adults was found only in whites, not in non-Hispanic, black or Hispanic adults
(McWilliams et al., Health Affairs, 7/7). The researchers said that if lack of health
insurance were categorized as a disease, it would be the third-leading cause of death
among the near-elderly, behind heart disease and cancer. They predicted that if
policymakers do not work to expand health coverage, the number of unnecessary deaths
among adults in that age group could grow to more than 30,000 per year by 2015 as baby
boomers age. 
 
Reaction
Lead author Dr. J. Michael McWilliams of Brigham and Women's said, "The consequences of
being uninsured are growing more severe, especially for this older age group. We were
surprised by the sheer number of preventable deaths." Deborah Banda, director of AARP for
Massachusetts, said, "The cost of health care not only threatens [U.S. residents']
financial security as they approach retirement, but it's also affecting their life
expectancy, and that's appalling." She added, "This report adds another level of urgency
to finding a solution to the problem" of the uninsured (Boston Globe, 7/7). John
McDonough, president of the advocacy group Health Care for All, said, "It's disturbing
and it's familiar. This is one more piece of evidence that the problem of the uninsured
is a national scandal." John Boesen, executive director of the Massachusetts Senior
Action Council, said that the uninsured cost the health care system more because they do
not receive adequate preventive care and frequently delay seeking care for illnesses. He
added, "There's got to be a whole different way of looking at things" (Boston Herald,
7/7). 

Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies for the Cato Institute, questioned the
study's findings, saying, "People don't die because of a lack of health coverage. Some
people die of a lack of health care." He added that most existing proposals to expand
health coverage would increase medical inflation and "push health care out of the reach
of more people," the Globe reports (Boston Globe, 7/7). An abstract of the study is
available at http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/4/223 
 

Source: California Healthline (www.californiahealthline.org) 



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Cyrus Shahpar & Brian Potts 
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service 
UC-Irvine



	
		
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