Today’s Managing Health Care Costs Number is 24,000
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As the scheduled House of Representatives vote on the American Health Care Act is only 3 days away, and as Paul Ryan continues to tweak the legislation to satisfy conservatives (who want deeper cuts in Medicaid) and moderates (who want to make the bill less dreadful for those over 50), it’s worth looking back at research that shows how much insurance matters.
The AHCA if passed is expected to lead to an excess of between 24,000 and 48,000 deaths per year.
Julia Belluz did a review of the work of Ben Sommers and others about a week ago on Vox.com – reprising work she did a month earlier. Giving people insurance decreases mortality.
A New England Journal 2012 study said that 20 lives were saved annually per 100,000 who were newly enrolled in Medicaid. A 2014 study in Annals of Internal Medicine showed that health care reform in Massachusetts decreased mortality by 2.9% in the state compared to a control state that did not do health care reform in 2006 –a decrease in mortality of 8 per 100,000 insured.
New research published in the Annals of Internal Medicineshows that cystic fibrosis patients live 10 years longer in Canada than in the United States. Those with insurance in the US have life expectancy similar to CF sufferers north of our border. Mortality is dramatically higher in those who are uninsured.
Median age of survival in patients with cystic fibrosis increased in both countries between 1990 and 2013; however, in 1995 and 2005, survival in Canada increased at a faster rate than in the United States (P < 0.001). On the basis of contemporary data from 2009 to 2013, the median age of survival in Canada was 10 years greater than in the United States (50.9 vs. 40.6 years, respectively). The adjusted risk for death was 34% lower in Canada than the United States (hazard ratio, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.54 to 0.81]). A greater proportion of patients in Canada received transplants (10.3% vs. 6.5%, respectively [standardized difference, 13.7]). Differences in survival between U.S. and Canadian patients varied according to U.S. patients' insurance status.
It seems like a pretty terrible time to kick 24 million people off insurance! Of course, you don't need to read medical journals to know that!
Throughout the 2009 debate on the Affordable Care Act, there were false claims that the ACA included "death panels." The real death panel, it turns out, is the members of the US House and Senate. Let's hope they make the right decision.
Throughout the 2009 debate on the Affordable Care Act, there were false claims that the ACA included "death panels." The real death panel, it turns out, is the members of the US House and Senate. Let's hope they make the right decision.
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