Do Guns Provide Safety? At What Cost?
In 2005, approximately 30,000 Americans died of gunshots and nearly 70,000 received emergency treatment for nonfatal wounds. Emergency facilities are constantly burdened by the services required in such traumatic events. Medical care for these patients costs up to $4 billion per year. The overall economic cost due to these injuries in America, including healthcare, disability, unemployment, and other intangibles is about $100 billion per year.
The case-to-fatality rate for gunshot trauma is 30%, which is much higher than for other injuries; for example, death occurs following a shooting 18 times more often than from motorcycle accidents. Typically, hospital stays for firearm-injured people are in the range of nearly two weeks' duration and disability averages approximately half a year. At a major Kentucky trauma center, medical care for gunshot victims in 2008 cost over $18 million, and charges for those needing admission averaged $43,000 per patient. In Louisville, Kentucky, expenses for the uninsured gun-injury victims alone exceeded the allotment of moneys allocated for all indigent care medical costs for the entire community. Similar concerns occur throughout our country. Death has a lower monetary impact. Disabilities, secondary illness, grief, and prolonged dysfunction add to the societal costs. Even these high numbers do not account for family losses and reduced social or personal productivity.
Taxpayers often bear a large percentage of these financial burdens; thus this matter is a hot political topic nationally. In Kentucky in 2008, 73% of gunshot victims were uninsured, 10% were covered by governmental plans, and 17% were insured. Nationally, data reported in 2001 documented that government programs pay for about 49% of this amount, 18% is covered by private insurance, and 33% by all other sources. Past medical bills are reflected in future insurance rates.
Gun violence costs about 2.4 billion dollars annually to the criminal justice system in America, which is almost equal to all other crimes put together. Each homicide results in approximately $244,000 of incarceration expenses for our taxpayers. Indirect costs are high as well; for example, local governments across our country spend up to $100 million each year just on bulletproof vests. Most of these bills are then passed on to the taxpayers.
What is the Cost?
In 2005, approximately 30,000 Americans died of gunshots and nearly 70,000 received emergency treatment for nonfatal wounds. Emergency facilities are constantly burdened by the services required in such traumatic events. Medical care for these patients costs up to $4 billion per year. The overall economic cost due to these injuries in America, including healthcare, disability, unemployment, and other intangibles is about $100 billion per year.
The case-to-fatality rate for gunshot trauma is 30%, which is much higher than for other injuries; for example, death occurs following a shooting 18 times more often than from motorcycle accidents. Typically, hospital stays for firearm-injured people are in the range of nearly two weeks' duration and disability averages approximately half a year. At a major Kentucky trauma center, medical care for gunshot victims in 2008 cost over $18 million, and charges for those needing admission averaged $43,000 per patient. In Louisville, Kentucky, expenses for the uninsured gun-injury victims alone exceeded the allotment of moneys allocated for all indigent care medical costs for the entire community. Similar concerns occur throughout our country. Death has a lower monetary impact. Disabilities, secondary illness, grief, and prolonged dysfunction add to the societal costs. Even these high numbers do not account for family losses and reduced social or personal productivity.
Taxpayers often bear a large percentage of these financial burdens; thus this matter is a hot political topic nationally. In Kentucky in 2008, 73% of gunshot victims were uninsured, 10% were covered by governmental plans, and 17% were insured. Nationally, data reported in 2001 documented that government programs pay for about 49% of this amount, 18% is covered by private insurance, and 33% by all other sources. Past medical bills are reflected in future insurance rates.
Gun violence costs about 2.4 billion dollars annually to the criminal justice system in America, which is almost equal to all other crimes put together. Each homicide results in approximately $244,000 of incarceration expenses for our taxpayers. Indirect costs are high as well; for example, local governments across our country spend up to $100 million each year just on bulletproof vests. Most of these bills are then passed on to the taxpayers.
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