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One study concluded that the uninsured are three times likelier to
die earlier than those insured.
The study, by the Center for Health Policy at Georgetown University,
involved 592,598 hospitalized people nationwide in 1987. It
concluded, ". . . in 13 of 16 patient groups matched for age, sex,
and race, researchers found the uninsured were sicker when they
arrived at the hospital, as evidenced by their 44 percent to 124
percent greater likelihood of dying at that time."
Even more startling was the finding that the uninsured were ". . .
29 percent to 75 percent less likely to undergo each of five medical
procedures that were costly or that allowed a wide degree of
discretion in deciding whether they were needed." Doctors and
hospitals hesitate to perform expensive tests or procedures if the
patient can't pay.
It is definitely "healthy"' to have health insurance. No one wants
to find himself or herself in a hospital unable to receive the
treatment necessary because they do not have an insurance policy or
because their current policy has numerous exclusions. |
