State figures are at www.familiesusa.org
In 2006, more than seven working age people in Texas died each day due to a lack of health insurance, according to the consumer group Families USA.
Families USA released state-by-state estimates of deaths attributed to a lack of health insurance for individuals ages 25–64 years. The report builds on the work of the Institute of Medicine, which in 2002 released a report that found that approximately 18,000 individuals ages 25–64 years died in 2000 because they were uninsured. A more recent study from the Urban Institute found that approximately 22,000 people in that age bracket died in 2006 because they didn't have health insurance.
“Our inadequate system of health coverage condemns a great number of people to an early death simply because they don't have the same access to health care as their insured neighbors,” Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said during a teleconference. “A lack of health coverage is a matter of life and death for many.”
In general, the uninsured are less likely to have a usual source of care outside of the emergency department, they often go without screenings and preventive care, and they frequently forego needed medical treatment, Mr. Pollack said.
In Utah, where 19% of the 1.2 million working age people in the state were uninsured in 2006, on average 3 people died each week due to a lack of health insurance coverage. Between 2000 and 2006, more than 800 people died due to lack of health insurance, the group estimated.
In Massachusetts, about 12% of the 3.4 million people aged 25–64 years were uninsured in 2006. Families USA estimates that more than 6 working age individuals in the state died each week in 2006 due to a lack of insurance coverage. Between 2000 and 2006, more than 2,000 working age adults died because they didn't have insurance coverage, the group estimated.
The Families USA estimates are based on 2000–2005 state mortality and population data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey data from 2000 to 2006. The group released 50 state specific reports but does not make state-to-state comparisons. The differing population size, mortality rates, and uninsured rates make it difficult to compare states, according to Families USA.