Thoughts on Deaths Related to Lack of Health Insurance in the US

Today, while doing my research for this article, I stumbled upon an old USA Today article from May of 2002. In the article, it had been determined by researchers that 18,000 people in the United States had died from a lack of health insurance in 2001. The article also mentioned that approximately 30 million people lacked health insurance at the time, a number relatively equal to the amount of people who will be covered under the Senate’s health care bill. These numbers, while staggering, pale in comparison to the numbers researchers found in 2009.

In a CNN article from September of 2009, It was determined that over 45,000 Americans died in 2008 because they did not have health care insurance, a number we can only sadly predict as having risen since. This, with approximately 45 million Americans off of the Health Insurance rolls. At the same time, health insurance CEO’s raked in massive salaries, while denying coverage to many of these people who are no longer with us. 15 Million People joined the ranks of the uninsured, and a staggering increase of deaths amongst this group makes this the biggest homeland threat we have ever faced.

We have spent nearly 750 billion dollars on the War in Iraq, but nothing has been done to respond to the thousands of deaths occurring right under our noses. Using basic math, passing the current bill would save approximately 30,000 lives over the course of a year, just by providing basic health care services to the sick and needy. The short term costs of a trillion dollars over 10 years, while tough to swallow, are nothing compared to the costs to families across the country. If the current system remains in place, we are effectively allowing people to die on our watch. It’s really that simple. No matter what the partisan debate of the moment may be, we must all agree that the status quo is not acceptable.

In the end, the bill will not make anybody 100% happy. But, if we can save that many lives per year, and potentially pay down the costs over the next decade, then why not use the Senate Bill as a starting point, a base from which adjustments can be made over time? If we can save the lives of our fellow Americans by passing this historic reform package, then it would seem passing the bill now would be in the best interest of everyone but the insurance companies.

This week should see resolution of a yearlong debate over the current process and the product created by both houses. Will everyone be happy? No, but if we all do some soul searching, and think about those less fortunate, maybe we can all agree that saving the lives of our fellow citizens, and making health care a right, not a privilege, will be in the long term best interest of our economy, our communities, and our country.