An estimated 210 working-age West Virginians die prematurely each year because they don't have health insurance, according to a report released Tuesday.
People without insurance are more likely to be diagnosed with diseases, such as cancer, at advanced stages, said Families USA, a national health-care consumer group. About 16.5 percent, or 172,000 West Virginians ages 25 to 64 don't have health insurance.
"We have many patients who die because they come to us late in the disease stage and because they're uninsured and don't have access to care," said Pat White, executive director of West Virginia Health Right, a free medical clinic in Charleston. "The growing number of uninsured isn't just devastating to their own health but to the health care system itself."
White said a 53-year-old woman without insurance died 10 days ago while waiting for a Charleston pharmacy to open. The woman, who had several chronic illnesses, had received a voucher to purchase medications.
"The pharmacist found her right there in the doorway," White said. "If she had had access to her medications, more than likely she would be alive today. Her death is a direct result of not being able to afford health care."
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"Our report highlights how our inadequate system of health coverage condemns a great number of West Virginians to an early death, simply because they don't have the same access to health care as their insured neighbors," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. "The conclusions are sadly clear: A lack of health coverage is a matter of life and death for many West Virginians."
As a nation we can afford to spend $12 billion in Iraq for an unnecessary occupation, but we can't afford to provide healthcare for all? We're the richest nation and yet we're the only industrialized nation that doesn't guarantee healthcare for its citizens? Does that make sense to you?
