PNHP co-founders Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H., and David Himmelstein, M.D., have published a landmark review of studies in the Annals of Internal Medicine that points to a link between lack of health insurance and preventable deaths. Their review, “The Relationship of Health Insurance and Mortality: Is Lack of Insurance Deadly?” was published June 26, 2017, as the U.S. Senate considered a major health overhaul.
Although estimates range, there is a strong scientific consensus that uninsurance leads to tens of thousands of deaths annually. If any of the various GOP health bills become law, millions of Americans would lose coverage and the number of preventable deaths would increase dramatically. The “Better Care Reconciliation Act,” for example, would result in 22 million people losing coverage and an additional 29,000 deaths per year.
PNHP press release:
https://pnhp.org/news…
full review of studies:
http://annals.org…
***
Sen. Sanders cites study findings on the floor of the Senate
In arguing against the “Better Care Reconciliation Act” on June 26, 2017, Sen. Sanders said, “The horrible and unspeakable truth is, that if this legislation were to pass, many thousands of our fellow Americans, every single year, will die, and many more will suffer and become much sicker than they should.” He submitted the Annals of Internal Medicine review, published earlier that day, to the Congressional Record.
