Friday, September 18, 2009

45,000

Forty-five thousand deaths per year in the United States owing to the lack of health insurance, according to a study released on Thursday by researchers from the Harvard Medical School. That's 123 deaths per day.

According to the study, "The United States stands alone among industrialized nations in not providing health coverage to all of its citizens. Currently, 46 million Americans lack health coverage."

Forty-five thousand.

In an interview with Reuters, one of the study's coauthors said, "We're losing more Americans every day because of inaction . . . than drunk driving and homicide combined."

"American adults age 64 and younger who lack health insurance have a 40 percent higher risk of death than those who have coverage."

Forty-five thousand.

That's fifteen times the number of people who died in the 9/11 attacks.

Every year.

Because they don't have health insurance.

What does that say about us?

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