Newborn Survival and Health Insurance Have Direct Correlation
A newborn child’s chances of death or serious illness at birth are linked directly to whether its mother has health insurance, according to a new study that finds a dramatic rise in the number of uninsured mothers in California. The study, said to be the first to document a long-suspected connection between lack of insurance and infant death and illness, found that the percentage of uninsured women giving birth in Northern California rose by 45 percent. Uninsured babies were 30 percent more likely than insured babies to die or have serious medical problems, the study found. Blacks especially suffered: Uninsured black babies were more than twice as likely as insured blacks – and four times as likely as insured whites – to encounter problems. “What’s very special about this study, and very sad about it, is that this is the first really large study that shows that lack of health