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Citation |
Diaz A, Chaffee SM, Santry HP. Am. J. Surg. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
32624165 |
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Abstract |
In their manuscript 'Catastrophic Expenditures in Trauma Patients after the Affordable Care Act: Reduced Financial Risk and Racial Disparities,' Liu et al. provide valuable insight into the benefits of expanding access to health insurance. They have chosen to study a population unexpectedly needing health care due to traumatic injury. Due to its sudden nature and prevalence among working age (19-65yo) individuals, traumatic injury can be among the most serious health shocks experienced by young and otherwise healthy Americans. A health shock is an acute (e.g., acute myocardial infarction), subacute (e.g., cancer), or chronic (e.g., diabetes) diagnosis that impacts personal (e.g., ability to work) and familial well-being (e.g., household finances). Not surprisingly, those with existing financial, employment, and housing insecurity can be disproportionately impacted by a health shock. Traumatic injury can be a particularly devastating health shock because injury outcomes can directly impact ability to resume baseline occupational and caregiver roles. Therefore, understanding the role of expanding insurance access on the financial toxicity of traumatic injury is a critical health policy-related research goal. While income is assumed based on zip code residence and out-of-pocket costs are calculated based on total hospital charges and what is presumed would be covered by insurance (if any) in place during the index hospitalization for traumatic injury, these results shed light on a number of key issues regarding the health insurance policy, health equity, and the social contract... Language: en |
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Keywords |
Catastrophic health expenditures; Health shock; Traumatic injury |