In my 20 years of practice as a family physician, I have encountered dozens of cases where the main contributing factor to a person’s death was the lack of health insurance for most of their lives. Full Story »
Posted by Chris Finnie
This piece is not crap. Its point is stated in the title - many people die early due to unavailability of universal health care. It refers to "a Harvard University study ... which appears in the American Journal of Public Health" and to a previous finding from the Institute of Medicine which provide documentation for the claim. The referenced study was easy to Google - here is the link: http://www.pnhp.org/excessdeaths/health-insurance-and-mortality-in-US-adults.pdf The author, a medical doctor, asserts this figure is probably low, extrapolating based on her personal experience. Perhaps so but not exactly statistically valid!
Richter combines a statistical study with her personal experience with uninsured patients. She supports the need for universal health care very well. I agree that single payer is the best solution, but she does not provide reasons why single payer should be preferred.
While I found the information about the Harvard study interesting, the ridiculous math performed at the end of the piece takes any credibility the writer might have had as a scientist.
Based on personal experience of one physician, this is backed by a recent Harvard study. Short, but hard-hitting.
Unattributed nonsense. No way to verify who Tina, Russel, Vivian et al. are and whether they actually died of what the author says they did. Not journalism -- chicken soup for the sappy soul.
Dr. Richter's opinion piece crosses the line between good and bad journalism by making an exaggerated claim that seems unnecessarily provocative. While I don't doubt that the Harvard University study is based on sound evidence, I question the use of the term "mass killer" to describe the lack of health care coverage as a cause of death. People are dying from actual diseases or accidents, not because of their financial condition. If you follow the author's line of reasoning, a variety of other obstacles besides the lack of universal health care could have contributed to people's deaths. I also find the dubious math at the end of the article misleading.
I'm in favor of providing universal health care coverage to all Americans -- and someday, all world citizens. But I cannot condone yellow journalism to reach that goal. There are many more convincing arguments in support of this important cause.
Another opinion that has the analytical rigor of a 10 year old. It is always important to remember biases - doctors sell medical services and drugs for a living - that's what their business entails. 200,000 people die in hospitals due to poor hygenie practices - that's 4 times the fictitious 45k - does that mean we need more or less people in hospitals? Insurance does not make healthy or unhealthy people - their personal lifestyle choices do that. Insurance just subsidizes ... More »
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