A new study shows that patients who don’t have health insurance are more likely to die from traumatic injuries than people with a health insurance plan. The study, conducted by a research team from Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, included car accidents among those injuries that are not being well cared for.
About the Study
The researchers analyzed 687,091 patients who visited trauma centers around the country from 2002 to 2006. Their research found that of those studies, the ones without health insurance or with public plans, on average, were twice as likely to die following an accidental injury.
A few stats from the study include:
- The uninsured of all ages: According to the study, the risk of death was 80 percent higher for patients without any insurance.
- Medicare deaths: The study also showed that the risk of death was 56 percent higher for patients covered by Medicare. The researchers thought this might have been due to the patients already having long-term disabilities.
- Deaths among younger patients: The researchers conducted a separate analysis of 209,702 trauma patients from ages 18 to 30 and found that they were of an 89 percent higher risk of death if uninsured even though they were less likely to have chronic conditions that might hinder recovery.
Shock from the Findings
Many are surprised by the findings of the study, including the researchers.
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Why Did They Cancel My Arizona Car Insurance?
So you got up this morning, wandered downstairs to check the mail and found a notice from your Arizona car insurance provider letting you know that in ten days your insurance policy was going to be null and void and you were going to be left cruising the streets of Tucson without a penny’s worth of coverage. Not a place any smart driver wants to be.
The question is, why did they do it? And what can you do to fix it?
There are many reasons for an Arizona car insurance provider to cancel an insurance policy, all of which are perfectly legit since Arizona believes in at will insurance. The most common reason for an insurance policy to be canceled is late payment on your bills. If you haven’t been paying your premiums on time your insurance company is going to catch up with you sooner or later. They’ll usually allow you to fall a month behind before cutting off your coverage, but they’re not going to dawdle long once the next payment rolls around.
If you’re behind on your payments to your insurer because your car insurance rates are too high, give them a call. The economic slump has left a lot of drivers struggling to pay their premiums, and Arizona car insurance agents are ready for that. They may be able to help you find more discounts you qualify for, raise your deductibles just enough to put your premiums back in your budget or trim the fat off your coverage. Remember, any car insurance coverage is better than the risk of driving with no insurance at all.
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Change is in the air for health insurance at the national level, but one state is not letting debate slow reform. In a monumental move, New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced in late October the formation of a new not-for-profit company, FAIR Health, Inc., to provide independent data to guide “usual, customary, and reasonable” (UCR) rates for out-of-network health charges.
This move eliminates UCR charge bias in New York’s health care system and allows consumers to research legitimate UCR rates in a simple, easy-to-understand format. Insurance companies had been using their own database of rates developed by Ingenix — owned by United Health Care — to determine UCR benchmarks. Ingenix was found to have biased rates downward at the behest of insurers, meaning the consumer was often reimbursed inadequately or charged incorrectly to begin with.
What does Cuomo’s action mean to you? If the trend of forcing insurers to contribute to independent UCR data extends to other states, you may finally be able to verify that reimbursements for out-of-network care are fair and accurate. You’d be able to shop around with more information in hand before choosing a provider.
If you live in New York and believe you have been overcharged or not reimbursed appropriately for out-of-network care, you can seek recourse with the New York Attorney General’s office.
Interstate insurance, or otherwise known as selling insurance across state lines, is a popular topic in the health insurance reform debate. It is thought that selling insurance across state lines will open up health care markets and lower costs for some. Still, many feel that selling insurance across state lines will lower the quality of care overall.
Dust swirls, pain sears your neck, and your ears ring. Someone ran a red light, and you have been in a major collision. While your health and safety–and that of your passengers–is undoubtedly your main concern, your second thought may be: “I hope that driver has good car insurance!”
Unfortunately, uninsured drivers are plentiful on American roads. According to the Insurance Research Council, in some states, more than 1 in 4 drivers carry no insurance. In poor economic times, the number of uninsured drivers rises as families struggle to pay bills. Add in the drivers who carry just the state-mandated minimum liability limits, and the odds of being fully covered by the at-fault driver get worse.
Protect yourself with Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist protection on your auto insurance policy.
Underinsured Motorist coverage pays the difference between the cost of your injuries and the at-fault driver’s insurance limit.
Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) insurance pays for injuries to you and your passengers.
Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD) insurance covers your car for damages, often with a lower deductible than your collision coverage.
This is valuable coverage to have in your car insurance policies.
Former president Bill Clinton decided to sit in with the Senate Democrats as they discuss the proposed overhaul of the U.S. health-care system and was scheduled to do so Tuesday. His plan was to meet with them during their weekly caucus as they worked on their version of a bill following the approval of a bill in House over the weekend.
Why Clinton?
Some may wonder why Clinton was chosen to participate in the health-care overhaul. It’s largely because in 1994, he tried to enact health-care reform, though his attempt was unsuccessful.
In order for the Democrats to bypass a Republican filibuster and move legislation to a final vote, they need 60 votes. They hope that Clinton will be able to help energize their caucus and effectively push through a successful overhaul.
House’s Overhaul Bill vs. Senate’s
On the other side of Congress, House approved a 10-year overhaul that would aim to cover 36 million Americans. According to the bill, a government-run insurance plan would also be set up. It would be known as the “public option.” While there are some differences between the Senate and House’s bills, many of the goals are similar.
The main battles that Senate is having with its bill comes from the topics of abortion and the public option. The House bill included language that would block the public option from covering abortion. However, Senate is struggling with this issue.
The Senate lawmakers won’t be able to make final decisions on their bill until they receive a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. They hope to receive an estimate by the end of the week.