U.S. Needs Universal Health Care To Prevent Deaths Related To Being Uninsured, According To Columnistx

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 14 Apr 2008 - 12:00 PDT

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The "uninsured receive a lot less care than the insured," and "sometimes this lack of care kills them," New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes. Krugman cites comments made by President Bush that "people have access to health care in America" because they can "just go to an emergency room." However, Krugman writes that "visits to the emergency room are no substitute for regular care," which can "identify and treat health problems before they get acute." He adds that "uninsured Americans often postpone medical care, even when they need it, because of expenses." Although "hospitals will treat anyone who arrives in an emergency room with an acute problem -- and it's wonderful that they will -- it's also true that hospitals bill patients for emergency department treatment," and "fear of those bills often causes uninsured Americans to hesitate before seeking medical help, even in emergencies," according to Krugman.

Krugman writes that preventable deaths related to being uninsured "are common" in the U.S. but "don't happen in any other rich country -- because every other advanced nation has some form of universal health insurance." He adds that the U.S. "should, too." Krugman writes that "if being a progressive means anything, it means believing that we need universal health care, so that terrible stories like those of ... the thousands of ... Americans who die each year from lack of insurance become a thing of the past" (Krugman, New York Times, 4/11).

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