Health insurance saves lives--a clear result from an inadvertent randomized trial

[Loren Pechtel]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/upshot/irs-letter-health-insurance-fine-study.html

The government sent out letters to those who had paid a fine for not having insurance. This caused some of them to sign up for insurance--and appears to have saved about 700 lives.

The thing is, they ran out of money in sending out the letters so they didn't send them to everyone they were supposed to. This provides a clear randomized trial that involved a very large number of people.

 

[laughing dog]

Wow, who would have thought that having health insurance would save lives.

 

[Elixir]

Wow, who would have thought that having health insurance would save lives.

Correlation != causation.
Health insurance doesn't save lives, health care saves lives.

 

[Jarhyn]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/upshot/irs-letter-health-insurance-fine-study.html

The government sent out letters to those who had paid a fine for not having insurance. This caused some of them to sign up for insurance--and appears to have saved about 700 lives.

The thing is, they ran out of money in sending out the letters so they didn't send them to everyone they were supposed to. This provides a clear randomized trial that involved a very large number of people.

And you know what maximizes coverage and lowers costs most effectively?

Government based health insurance.

 

[laughing dog]

Wow, who would have thought that having health insurance would save lives.

Correlation != causation.
Health insurance doesn't save lives, health care saves lives.

True, but having health insurance makes getting health care much easier.

True story. When I was recovering from cancer surgery, I shared a room with a young cowboy from Wyoming. For over 10 months he had stomach pains that grew in intensity and frequency. Since he did not have health insurance, he did not go to doctor until they became unbearable. The doctor sent him to Mayo where they diagnosed him with stomach, liver and bladder cancer. This young man's prognosis was not very good. I don't know what happened to him. We don't know if those 10 months would have made a difference, but I strongly suspect they would have.

 

[Elixir]

Wow, who would have thought that having health insurance would save lives.

Correlation != causation.
Health insurance doesn't save lives, health care saves lives.

True, but having health insurance makes getting health care much easier.

I get the idea, and yes, for many people insurance is the only way they can possibly afford the care they need.
But I still remember when I could go to my primary physician's office and pay $20 cash for a complete physical, and had a $600/yr catastrophic insurance policy that protected me from 6-7 digit medical disasters. THAT was easier.
Now I jump through the Medicare hoops, premiums, additional premiums to take care of deductibles, waits for approval... and still don't get a "real" preventative maintenance-type complete physical. Just a quick going over and a few questions, then referrals to overbooked specialists if I have any complaints. NOT easy.
It definitely sucks, but sadly, it's worlds better than the $1000/mo +$10,000 deductible insurance I had for a decade or more prior to coming eligible for Medicare.

The 10 months that cowboy waited is probably less time than is typical for people presenting with that kind of symptom.

 

[ronburgundy]

Wow, who would have thought that having health insurance would save lives.

Correlation != causation.
Health insurance doesn't save lives, health care saves lives.

No, Insurance does save lives, health care is the mediating mechanism by which this causal chain takes place.

If I push a boulder down a hill and it hits a tree, which falls on someone, then my action still caused the death, despite the tree and gravity being more proximal causes.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Wow, who would have thought that having health insurance would save lives.

Correlation != causation.
Health insurance doesn't save lives, health care saves lives.

No, Insurance does save lives, health care is the mediating mechanism by which this causal chain takes place.

If I push a boulder down a hill and it hits a tree, which falls on someone, then my action still caused the death, despite the tree and gravity being more proximal causes.

We seem to be at a threshold where sarcasm now goes completely undetected.

 

[ronburgundy]

No, Insurance does save lives, health care is the mediating mechanism by which this causal chain takes place.

If I push a boulder down a hill and it hits a tree, which falls on someone, then my action still caused the death, despite the tree and gravity being more proximal causes.

We seem to be at a threshold where sarcasm now goes completely undetected.

Elixir's follow up post shows they were being serious.