Dying for Coverage in Indiana

Nearly nine people die each day in Indiana because they do not have health insurance.

That’s just one finding from a new Families USA report, Dying for Coverage in Indiana. Having health insurance matters, and these statistics tell you why. The report is the first-ever state-specific report of its type, and is based on a ground-breaking national study by the Institute of Medicine, which in 2002 forged the direct link between a lack of health coverage and deaths from health-related causes.

DYING FOR COVERAGE IN INDIANA
The number of uninsured Americans reached 47 million in 2006, and it continues to rise.
For many of the uninsured, the lack of health insurance has dire consequences. The uninsured face medical debt, often go without necessary care, and even die prematurely. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine released a groundbreaking report, Care without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late, which estimated that, nationwide, 18,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 64 died in 2000 because they did not have health insurance. Subsequently, The Urban
Institute estimated that at least 22,000 adults in the same age group died in 2006 because they did not have health insurance.

To find out what this means for people across the nation, Families
USA has generated the first-ever state-level estimates of the number of
deaths due to lack of health insurance. Our estimates are based on both
the Institute of Medicine and The Urban Institute methodologies applied to
state-level data.
In 2006, there were more than 3,507,000 people between the ages of 25
and 64 living in Indiana. Of those, 13.7 percent were uninsured.Uninsured
Hoosiers are sicker and die sooner than their insured counterparts.
Working-Age People without Health Insurance Die Sooner
Families USA estimates that nearly nine working-age Hoosiers die each week due to lack of health insurance (approximately 460 people in 2006).
Between 2000 and 2006, the estimated number of adults between the ages of 25
and 64 in Indiana who died because they did not have health insurance was nearly 3,100.
Across the United States, in 2006, twice as many people died from lack of health
insurance as died from homicide.

Uninsured adults are more likely to be diagnosed with a disease in an advanced stage. For example, uninsured women are substantially more likely to be
diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer than women with private insurance.

WHY INSURANCE MATTERS
The uninsured are less likely to have a usual source of care outside of the
emergency room.
Uninsured Americans are up to four times less likely to have a regular source
of care than the insured.
The uninsured often go without screenings and preventive care.
Uninsured adults are more than 30 percent less likely than insured adults to
have had a checkup in the past year.
Uninsured adults are more likely to be diagnosed with a disease in an advanced
stage. For example, uninsured women are substantially more likely to be diagnosed
with advanced stage breast cancer than women with private insurance.
The uninsured often delay or forgo needed medical care.
Uninsured Americans are up to three times more likely to report having problems
getting needed medical care.
Uninsured adults are more than three times as likely as insured adults to delay
seeking medical care (47 percent versus 15 percent).
Uninsured Americans are sicker and die earlier than those who have insurance.
Uninsured adults are 25 percent more likely to die prematurely than adults
with private health insurance.
Uninsured Americans between 55 and 64 years of age are at much greater risk
of premature death than their insured counterparts. This makes uninsurance
the third leading cause of death for the near-elderly, following heart disease and
cancer.
The uninsured pay more for medical care.
Uninsured patients are unable to negotiate the discounts on hospital and doctor
charges that insurance companies do. As a result, uninsured patients are often
charged more than 2.5 times what insured patients are charged for hospital
services.
Three out of five uninsured adults (60 percent) under the age of 65 reported having problems with medical bills.

The more you share this important information, the more we can work on finding a solution to fix our broken health care system.