title: The uninsured and the benefits of medical progress.
abstract: In a recent Health Affairs article, David Cutler and Mark McClellan found that new medical technology confers positive net benefits for several conditions, including heart attacks, cataracts, and depression. We estimate the extent to which uninsured Americans ages 55-64 use these technologies and compute access gaps for each. Based on Cutler and McClellan's net benefit estimates, we calculate that more than $1.1 billion is lost annually from excess morbidity and mortality among the uninsured population because of lack of access to new technologies for the treatment of these three conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, USA.
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glied
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Little
mesh_terms: D020811:Biomedical Technology; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology