Children who lack health insurance are twice as likely to die from their injuries after being hospitalized as children who are insured, according to a new report released by Families USA, USA Today reports. For the report, researchers led by J. Mick Tilford of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences analyzed government data from 2000 and 2003.
The researchers examined the records of 25,000 uninsured children with general injuries and 6,500 with traumatic brain injuries and compared them with the records of insured children, adjusting to control for age, severity of injury and other case aspects. Researchers noted that they could not control for some factors, according to USA Today. The study found that the uninsured children had 327 "excess deaths" over two years. Researchers also reported the following findings: