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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
-
August 10 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
