Hundreds dying annually in Florida due to lack of health insurance
By LIZ FREEMAN
Six Florida adults die every day because they lack health insurance and Florida appears to have one of the highest death rates due to its uninsured population, according to a national healthcare consumer group.
The deaths are among working-age adults aged 25 to 64, according to Families USA, based in Washington, D.C.
In 2006 alone, 2,400 people died in the state because they lacked health insurance and went without proper medical treatment.
For the six-year period from 2000 through 2006, more than 13,600 working-age adults died in Florida, "The lack of health insurance coverage is a matter of life and death for many Floridians," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.
Across the United States, twice as many people died in 2006 due to not having insurance than died from homicide.
A myriad of factors come into play, namely not getting preventive care early on, having to make the choice of buying medications or putting food on the table, and because of undiagnosed diseases going untreated because of lack of access to medical care. Uninsured adults are 25 percent more likely to die premature than adults with insurance.,
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