Not Having Illinois Medical Insurance Heightens Death Risks

Forgoing Illinois medical insurance heightens death toll potential. As the health insurance reform bill remains unsettled, several research studies depict the risk of a higher mortality rate among the uninsured. From developing cardiovascular disease or cancer, to suffering from a traumatic injury, data indicates that being without Illinois medical insurance is merely a detrimental prospect.

A study of 1231 patients, recovering from head or neck cancers from 1998 through 2007 at the Pittsburgh Medical Center evaluated the survival rate of patients, who were uninsured to the insured. One hundred and twenty eight patients, who were on Medicaid or were without health insurance perished, illustrated a fifty percent survival rate. By comparison, 22 percent of the patients with medical coverage perished.

Among traumatic injury sufferers, similar death discrepancies were notable. A group of researchers of Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School compiled statistics from the National Trauma Data Bank, which has a database of 2.7 million patients admitted to trauma centers throughout the United States. Evaluating patient admissions from 2002 and 2006, researchers reviewed 687,091 adult medical records. The findings linked a substantial correlation between the mortality rates of the uninsured patient opposed to the insured. Researchers endeavored to revise the data to delete the implications of age, race and gender; however, the statistics illustrated the same high death rate among the uninsured. Even more perturbing, Medicare subscribers’ survival rates were comparable to patients, who had a private health insurance policy.

Reviewing data from 1998 to 2005 at the Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, researchers investigated the death rate of 29,829 patient records. Uninsured admissions accounted for sixty-eight percent of the patients. The data portended a higher death rate among the younger, non-insured patients, suffering from less traumatic injuries than their surviving insured counterparts.

Although hospitals extend treatment, it remains unclear whether the higher death rate is attributable to the uninsured obtaining minimal medical care during hospitalization. While there have not been any studies about comparing the death toll of the uninsured to individuals with Illinois medical insurance, the Centers for Disease Control maintains data showing that the rate of Illinoisans not having Illinois medical insurance has been on the upswing for the last decade. The statistics of residents without Illinois medical insurance has been on a steady rise for the past decade.

Meanwhile, cardiovascular disease continues be the first cause of death in the United States. The American Heart Association noticed a 33 percent spike in cardiovascular inpatient operations from 1996 to 2006. With close to 15 percent of the Illinois population not having Illinois medical insurance coupled with a high mortality rate of the uninsured, and the emerging number of cardiovascular disease diagnoses, a lack of health coverage forecasts a detrimental outcome.

Illinois medical insurance consultant, Michael Novelli asserts “Despite the fact that cancer and heart disease are not preventable, people with medical coverage are more likely to have an earlier diagnosis, allowing for better medical care. So many managed care Illinois medical insurance plans are economical enough to slow down additional medical casualties.

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