Accidental study shows link between expanded health insurance and fewer deaths

Health Insurance Study. — (Image credit: ronstik/iStock)

It turns out an Obama-era budgeting issue may have gone a long way toward proving the link between expanded health insurance and fewer deaths, The New York Times reports.

On the surface, it seems obvious that having health insurance would decrease the likelihood of death, but some economists are skeptical since uninsured people aren't completely excluded from health insurance. So an accidental study that took place in the final days of the Obama administration showing that the mortality rates did decline with increased coverage has other experts excited.

In 2016, as part of the Affordable Health Care Act, the Internal Revenue Service sent 3.9 million Americans a letter telling them they had recently paid a fine for not carrying health insurance and suggested ways to enroll. The letter was supposed to go out to all 4.5 million people who didn't enroll, but the budget turned out to be too small, leaving 600,000 people in the dark. That wound up allowing the Treasury Department to conduct a study, which showed that for every 1,648 people who received the letter, one fewer death occurred than among those who hadn't, per the Times.

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The economists' research found that the letter led to a 12 percent decline in mortality, which is far from insignificant, although it's still unclear just how large the effects may be. Either way, Sarah Miller, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan who researches the topic, said the study provides "a really high standard of evidence that you can't just dismiss." Read more at The New York Times.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.