Institute of Medicine Study Looks at Impact of Uninsurance on Health

There were more than 18,000 "excess deaths" in 2000 among uninsured Americans compared to people with health insurance, according to a report being released May 21 by the Institute of Medicine. The AP/Spokane Spokesman-Review reports that one study included in the report, "Care Without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late," followed 4,700 Americans for at least 13 years and found that 18.4% of people without insurance died during that period, while 9.6% of those with insurance died. Uninsured people die sooner than people with insurance because of delayed diagnosis, the report found. People without insurance are less likely to get screening tests such as mammograms, Pap tests and colon exams, and their ailments are more likely to have advanced by the time cancer is diagnosed, according to the report. The report also found that uninsured patients hospitalized for a heart attack are more likely to die during or shortly after their hospital stay than are insured patients. Mary Sue Coleman, co-chair of the IOM committee that wrote the report, said, "When you think about some of the most important conditions -- hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes -- if you don't care for these people with continuous monitoring and drugs, their health deteriorates very rapidly" (AP/Spokane Spokesman-Review, 5/21). A HealthCast of the briefing to release the report will be available online after noon ET May 22.