Comments on: Does Lack of Insurance Cause Premature Death?

By: JB

JB — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:24:56 +0000

conversely, if I do have health insurance, will I never die?

By: John R. Graham

John R. Graham — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:51:47 +0000

It’s not a dragon, but a zombie: Kill it as many times as you like, it will come back again and again as long as the media fall for it.

The article is a little opaque, so I might have this wrong, but the authors estimated 35,327 deaths associated with lack of health insurance when considering all Americans aged between 18-14. However, when they estimated without “age stratification”, they estimated 44,789.

Table 1 segments the sample by age: the younger groups are more likely to be uninsured than the older ones (29% for those aged 17-24 versus 9% for those aged 55-64). They are also less likely to have died at the end of the period (1% for those aged 17-24 and 11% for those aged 55-64).

So, if the model assumes (utterly unrealistically) that lack of health insurance at the initial interview persists, and adjusts the death rate as the sample ages, the more accurate conclusion is that aging is related to increased likelihood of death!

By: Brian W.

Brian W. — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:09:36 +0000

Forgive me for asking: If being uninsured increases my probability of dying, does the same premise hold true for all types of insurance? Am I more likely to crash my car if I don’t have auto insurance? Is my house more likely to catch on fire without homeowner’s insurance?

By: Larry C.

Larry C. — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:09:33 +0000

Also, very well written. You have a way of undercutting silly ideas.

By: Joe S.

Joe S. — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:01:28 +0000

Terrific piece. Congratulations.

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:31:39 +0000

Great post. I think you slayed the dragon.