According to an Urban Institute Study called The Hospital Costs of Firearms Assaults fount that about 80 percent of the cost of treating victims of gun violence in 2010 was borne in part by taxpayers. That means taxpayers paid for victims' care either through government
programs like Medicaid or through publicly-funded programs that
subsidize hospital care for those who don't have insurance and can’t
afford to pay.
“The victims are concentrated among young, poor males,” said the
report's author, Embry Howell, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute.
“This is the population we’re talking about and their costs are very
high. It's one group that is heavily uninsured."
Hospitals in the U.S. spent $630 million in 2010 treating the victims of gun violence
-- everything from minor gunshot wounds to injuries that required
days-long stays -- and public funds provided most of that money. The
Medicaid costs of gun violence alone that year amounted to approximately
$327 million.
Notably, the report found that the average cost of a hospital visit
for a gun violence victim is $14,000 more than that of the average
hospital stay, due to the severity of the injuries often involved.
Although, the true economic cost of gun violence is much larger that what hospitals are spending on care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that gun violence deaths cost the U.S. economy $37 billion and gun injuries $3.7 billion in 2005, the last year the public health agency conducted an analysis. In addition, taxpayers often end up footing the bill for social services for gun violence victims, as well as building the expensive hospital trauma units needed for their treatment.
One bit of good news:
Many of the victims of gun violence who are uninsured will see their
hospital bills go down as President Obama’s health care reform law
offers more low-income Americans access to Medicaid in many states.
The Bad News:
But
because Medicaid is a government-subsidized program, Howell noted, the
cost of gun violence to taxpayers will go up.
In other words, society bears the cost of gun violence, but that's another thing I've been sayiing all along.
What you could do is work to reduce the violence among the "young, poor males," instead of advocating a busywork solution that violates the rights of Americans.
ReplyDeleteCome on Camp. You are the one who said we don't have a right to keep the fruits of our labor, we need to give it to the government for the benefit of society. Remember saying that?
Deleteorlin sellers
Orlin, you mischaracterized what I had to say, and you're repeating that here. Taxes are a necessary part of our society. And yes, programs to reduce violence in our cities would require tax money to pay for them. But that's a separate question from gun rights.
DeleteThe site lying criminal coward doesn't remember saying anything and denies saying what is posted by himself, his own words. He thinks Americans should have a right to beat people up, those were his words.
Delete"And yes, programs to reduce violence in our cities would require tax money to pay for them. But that's a separate question from gun rights."
DeleteNot when it's guns causing the violence and death.
I didn't mischaracterize anything. You said people don't have a right to keep what they make; plus, I never said anything about guns.
Deleteorlin sellers
The way to fix this is if they come in without insurance tattoo their foreheads with uv ink then any time they go to collect state benefits you can cut the take of the dole by 50% until their hospital bill is paid off..... And now this is taken care of by Obamacare right since now everyone has insurance coverage.....
DeleteWhat?!?!?! Not everyone has insurance coverage why that's impossible.....
Strange how the site lying criminal says others are always lying about what he says, when we have his own words to prove what a lying criminal coward he is.
DeleteTax the sale of guns enough to cover the cost of gun injuries and gun deaths. Yes, that's a lot of money, but why should non gun owners pay that bill?
Delete"but why should non gun owners pay that bill?"
DeleteWhy should gun owners who didn't cause the injury have to pay for something they didn't do?
It's guns causing the problem. Gun owners promote and buy guns.
DeleteMy car insurance rates go up to cover the costs of accidents I had nothing to do with. Someone has to cover the costs and non car owners aren't being charged those costs. As it should be, they are not part of the problem. Why do you expect non gun owners to cover the costs of gun owners irresponsible acts?
How about making the individual who caused the injury be financially responsible for improper use of their firearms.
DeleteGreat!
DeleteWhy do you gun loons oppose insurance on guns?
As usual, no response from the gun loon.
Delete