Study: Preventable deaths rose during pandemic

A new report offers a bleak picture of the state of the country’s healthcare system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with premature deaths on the rise across states while disparities in access to reproductive care for women have widened (Source: “New Study Finds Preventable Deaths Rose During Pandemic,” US News, June 22).

Deaths directly attributable to COVID-19 brought about a stark rise in preventable mortality for each state between 2019 and 2021, according to the latest edition of the Commonwealth Fund’s Scorecard on State Health System Performance. The report also found a large increase after 2019 in “avoidable” deaths, which were defined as those that occurred from otherwise treatable chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Report researchers suggest the rise in deaths from those conditions was likely the result of them being left unmanaged because patients delayed getting preventive care due to service disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Other notable contributors to the rise in premature deaths from 2019 to 2021 include a 51% increase in deaths from drug overdose, which in 2021 reached a record high of more than 106,000. Deaths from alcohol rose 39% over that period, and firearm-related mortality increased by 23% in 2021 compared to 2019. Deaths from drug overdose, alcohol and suicide combined accounted for approximately 200,000 in 2021 for the first time, according to the report, an increase of around 50,000 compared to 2019.