Dr. Deb Richter: Lack of universal health care is a mass killer

[marmar]

from The Progressive:



Lack of universal health care is a mass killer
By Dr. Deb Richter, October 4, 2009


In my 20 years of practice as a family physician, I have encountered dozens of cases where the main contributing factor to a person’s death was the lack of health insurance for most of their lives.

The lack of universal health care is a mass killer in this country.

Nearly 45,000 deaths in the United States each year are attributable to the lack of health insurance, according to a Harvard University study released in September.

That astonishing figure, which appears in the American Journal of Public Health, is a big uptick from the Institute of Medicine’s finding seven years ago that 18,000 people die each year because they lack insurance and thus have less access to care.

The Harvard Medical School researchers found that an uninsured person’s risk of death is 40 percent higher than his or her privately insured counterpart. Looked at another way, every 12 minutes a person dies unnecessarily because he or she doesn’t have health coverage.

As startling as this 45,000 figure is, I fear it underestimates the problem. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.progressive.org/mprichter100409.html

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[Cleita]

2. Of course it is.

I wish someone, who has the authority, would charge whoever stands in the way of reform with, at the very least negligent homicide, for everyone who dies because of this who didn't have to. I think Max Baucus should be charged for every person who died in the last four months while he delayed and dragged his feet only to hand a big Valentine to the health care industry parasites who give him money.

[indepat]

3. While maybe not a holocaust, lack of universal health care is surely a massive killer, but one

a seemingly corrupt, venal, and self-serving Congress will keep in place for the benefit of corporate interests rather than we the people unless they prove me wrong by finally putting the interests of the people ahead of their corporate masters on this issue: the proof will be in the pudding the Congress cooks up. ;)

[jgraz]

4. And those fighting against healthcare reform are the camp guards.