Families USA, a consumer health advocacy group, estimates that 400 adult North Dakotans could suffer premature deaths over the next decade from lack of health coverage.
The estimate, released Monday, uses a study method devised by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, which estimated that 18,000 non-elderly adult Americans died in 2000 due to lack of health care.
The mortality estimates were released as Congress and the White House enter the final stage of adopting health reform, stalled by sharp partisan differences.
Avoidable deaths from lack of health insurance constitute the "ultimate cost" of failing to provide an affordable health system that ensures access, said Ron Pollock, Families USA's executive director.
By quantifying the deadly human toll from failure to act, the advocacy group hopes to help spur action on health reform. Nationwide, daily deaths would rise from 68 this year to 84 in 2019, Families USA estimates.
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Society routinely cries out for action after a tragedy results in loss of life, Pollock said.
"Yet, unseen, hundreds of thousands will die needlessly and prematurely over the next decade because our terribly flawed health care system excludes these ordinary Americans," he said.
Those without health coverage are more likely to succumb to premature death because they often go without screenings and other preventive care, health experts said.
Also, the uninsured often delay or forgo necessary medical care.
In North Dakota, an estimated 11 percent of the population is uninsured, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Minnesota's uninsured population is 8.5 percent, compared to the U.S. average of 15.4 percent.
No mortality estimate for the uninsured in Minnesota was available Monday from Families USA, which is releasing its estimates by groups of states.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Patrick Springer at (701) 241-5522
