Lack of Health Care Kills More Than Drunk Drivers and Murderers
As we know, there's a health care reform debate raging in Washington, D.C. Along with it comes a lot of information, some true, some not. Everybody agrees on one thing: there is a problem, and something has to happen.
My clients often deal with access to care issues. It's less and less that a client comes in to see me with the option of getting care through a private health plan. We've had more than one experience where a disabled client seeking Social Security disability benefits is more concerned about Medicare coverage than the actual disability benefit itself. To say that these issues sometimes involve issues of life and death is no overstatement.
Reuters recently reported on a study that concluded 45,000 people die each year in part because they do not have health insurance that would provide access to proper care. This is more than drunk driving deaths and homicide combined.
A few interesting trends: It's getting worse. The article cites an older study showing an increase in the number of uninsured Americans. Also, there is less access. In larger cities, public hospitals and clinics are shutting doors are limiting available services.
Check out this NPR story about a medical "camp," and the number of people who showed up looking for care care.
