Study: Medicare Patients, Uninsured More Likely to Die from Trauma
Nov. 17, 2009 – A recent study conducted by Harvard University researchers indicates Medicare patients stand a 56 percent greater chance of dying from traumatic injuries and the uninsured an 80 percent greater chance than their counterparts with traditional health insurance coverage.
Focusing on people suffering “unintentional injuries,” Harvard University researchers found auto accidents the number-one cause of unintentional injuries. Information on 2.7 million trauma patients was obtained from the National Trauma Data Bank for the years 2002 through 2006. Researchers then compared patients based on their age, race, sex, how they were injured and to what extent. Results then were compared based on the reported insurance status of patients.
“Unintentional injuries” rank among top 10 causes of death for every age group in the United States and is the top cause of death for Americans under age 44, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common unintentional injuries are caused by vehicular accidents.
Results showed Medicare patients were 56 percent more likely to die from traumatic injuries than their counterparts, and people without health insurance coverage of any kind were 80 percent more likely to die after suffering traumatic injuries than those with health insurance coverage.
While significant differences seem to arise based on whether or not a patient had health insurance coverage, researchers acknowledge no direct correlation can be made between insurance status and survivability. In most cases, injury severity was the deciding factor.
Researchers speculated the severity of trauma rather than access to care was the primary reason people were more likely to die than others. Among young adults, gunshot wounds as well as auto accidents ranked among the top causes of traumatic injury. Because young adults are more likely to have no health insurance than older adults and they on average suffer much more life-threatening injuries, the severity of injuries suffered rather than access to health insurance is the main reason youth die more often from traumatic injuries, according to the Harvard University research team.
Among older Americans receiving treatment through Medicare, the higher mortality rate due to traumatic injuries likely stems from a greater likelihood of suffering from long-term, more debilitating illnesses and injuries, according to researchers.
While death rates from traumatic events among younger and older Americans without health insurance coverage are more readily explained, researchers suggest middle-age Americans without health insurance coverage tend to suffer more than their insured counterparts and die more often due to delays in obtaining medical care, lapses in treatments and other causes.
The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986 ensures people seeking treatment at hospital emergency rooms are treated regardless of whether or not they have health insurance coverage. But when uninsured individuals suffer a traumatic injury, they often have complicating conditions that increases odds of dying from a traumatic injury, several medical professionals contend.