Monday, June 25, 2012

The Genocide of The Uninsured

Some 26,100 working age Americans died prematurely in 2010 as a consequence of being uninsured, a new study from liberal think tank Families USA estimates.

Using methodology established by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Families USA calculated that between 2005 and 2010, the number of uninsured people aged 25-64 who died prematurely rose from 20,350 to 26,100. The total number of deaths due to lack of health coverage over this period was estimated at 134,120.(1)

The 'genius' of capitalism is that premature death is regarded not as systemic failure but as a matter of personal choice.

1'Tens of thousands die in the US due to lack of health insurance' - wsws

1 comment:

Lindsay said...

Yep, yep.

Either that, or a personal failing, which isn't quite the same thing as a personal choice --- personal choice, people talk about with bland equanimity, but a personal failing they blame you for.

Or, to rephrase: what you describe, capitalism regarding premature death as a personal choice, is just acceptance of things that should be unacceptable; what I perceive is that, but also with a nasty undertone of victim-blaming.

(I found your blog from one of n8chz's quote round-ups ... thought yours was especially brilliant, so I came here to check it out.)