Survey: 2 uninsured Ohioans die unnecessarily each day

A new survey from Families USA, a national health advocacy organization, estimates that 750 uninsured Ohioans died unnecessarily in 2006 from health-related issues. This equals two deaths a day in the state. (Source: "750 uninsured Ohioans died unnecessarily in 2006, Families USA says," Plain Dealer, March 19, 2008.) "For example, an uninsured person may put off going to the doctor to have a chronic cough checked until, breathless, the person shows up at an emergency room only to learn he or she has untreatable lung cancer." According to Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, for people ages 25 to 64 lack of health insurance is the third-leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. The Ohio report may be downloaded in a PDF format from the organization's website.

A 2002 study from the Institute of Medicine suggested a link between "avoidable health-related deaths and lack of health insurance, finding that uninsured adults were 25 percent more likely to die early than adults with private insurance. The institute estimated that 18,000 adults nationwide died in 2000 because they did not have health insurance."