Saturday, March 25, 2017

Gun injuries cost Americans 730 million annually.

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

Americans paid more than $6.6 billion over eight years to care for victims of gun violence, according to a new tally of hospital bills. And U.S. taxpayers picked up at least 41% of that tab. 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, say the authors of a study published this week in the American Journal of Public Health. Their sum does not include the initial — and very costly — bill for gunshot victims’ care in emergency rooms. Nor does it include hospital readmissions to treat complications or provide follow-up care. The cost of rehabilitation, or of ongoing disability, is not included either. 

“These are big numbers, and this is the lowest bound of these costs,” said Sarabeth A. Spitzer, a Stanford University medical student who co-wrote the study. “We were surprised” at the scale, she added. 

That, arguably, makes gun-injury prevention a public health priority, Spitzer said. The GOP’s healthcare reform measure would reduce federal contributions toward Medicaid, which foots roughly 35% of the hospital bills for gunshot victims. The GOP plan would also cut payments to the hospitals that absorb much of the cost of caring for self-paying (in other words, uninsured) patients, whose hospital bills accounted for about 24% of the $730 million-per-year tab. 

“These are expensive injuries,” Spitzer said.

But can we REALLY put a price on a citizen's constitutional right to bear arms?

Hell yes we can! And it is a lot less than 730 million dollars a year.

I think that every gun owner should not only be forced to register their weapon, AFTER going through a strenuous background check, but that they also be forced to purchase insurance that specifically pays for any injuries that they or others may suffer as a result of that purchase.

I can tell you that I personally do not want to pay for the hospital bills of some fool who accidentally shot himself with his own gun. In my opinion he is too dumb to live anyhow.

30 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:14 AM

    After Sandy Hook, I lost all faith in any kind of legislation for registration and background checks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7:14 AM

    dRUMPf's weekly golf vacations, his kid's business travel, and security on his various RE locations run a close second.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7:17 AM

    Amen. If women in GOPLAND have to pay for their own maternity, birth and after care after being raped, the least these macho gunlovers can do is help pay for the damage their 2nd amendment causes to all of us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous7:24 AM

    The NRA should bear responsibility for a lot of these costs, pushing the stupid right to bear arms incessantly. Gang members should be forced to repay some of these costs, too. Take away their weapons, cars, belongings to help pay. Work picking up trash along hiways, ANYTHING to earn ###. I pay Medicare and have a Supplement insurance costing $156. a month. Just received a bill for a carotoid scan Medicare paid $40 dollars supplemental ZERO. Three fourths of my pension goes to medical, after working 25 years for a company. These clowns in DC have no idea what goes on in the REAL world with medical coverage. If I do not pay this bill, it will be turned over to a collection agency. At 81, I am sick of struggling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel for your situation and hope for the best with your ongoing struggles. I am trying to call congressional offices every chance I get and urging people to do the same.
      As for the NRA, they have been busy getting cozy with the Russians for quite some time. Asswipes. Every single one.

      https://medium.com/@LaddEveritt/from-russia-with-love-for-the-nra-ffc69088fe41#.opde32pnn

      Delete
  5. Anonymous7:43 AM

    In line with the GOP male congressmen who feel they should not pay anything for any woman's health cost, I say we non-gun-owners shouldn't have to pay a penny for any cost that comes from shots fired by a careless lazy gun-owner. Not one penny. Let them foot the entire bill through mandatory insurance. Give them a break, say 10% if they complete solid training in gun safety and can prove they keep the guns locked up, etc. Oh, yeah, and premiums go up if they are charged with DUI or DWI even once.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Insurance companies charge you more if you're a smoker. They figure you are more likely to get cancer.

      Some homeowner policies charge you more if you own certain breeds of dogs, like German Shepherd or Rottweiler.

      Fair enough.

      The same should hold true for gun ownership under the same premise: risky lifestyle.

      If you own a gun, not only should you have higher premiums for home owner's insurance but you should also have higher premiums for health insurance as well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:46 AM

      Nope. 2nd Amendment.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous2:08 PM

      @ Miaiuppa
      I think that is a wonderful idea. As a gun owner I think that would be the way to demand stricter regulations. Just like with any home owners insurance policy, they can set the standards on what they will cover, such as, if your front and back steps, or a ramp doesn't meet their specs they will not pay out for any accidents. I would love to see a set standard that included things like gun safes, trigger locks, etc. because as a hunter and a rancher unless I have a weapon out all my guns are in safes with trigger locks. I am all for mental health checks before being allowed to own a weapon, extensive background checks, I think anyone even accused of a violent crime, such as DV, should have their weapons turned in until their trial, if guilty they should never be allowed weapons again, if innocent they should get them back.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous2:01 AM

      Nope, 2nd Amendment.

      Thank God Trump won with retards like you people.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous7:45 AM

    "DO NOT WORRY." I ALONE WILL PROTECT YOU. I AM THE BIGLYEST, GREATEST POWER RANGER EVER!

    http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-obamacare-health-care-236496

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7:56 AM

    OT:
    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/house-intel-head-nunes-took-mysterious-dead-of-night-excursion-before-making-trump-surveillance-claims/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:09 AM

      http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/24/devin-nunes-vanished-the-night-before-he-made-trump-surveillance-claims.html

      Delete
  8. Anonymous8:23 AM

    Why not a steep federal tax on gun owners to help cover the costs? Sounds good to me but, then, I don't own a gun.
    Beaglemom

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous8:29 AM

    666pence?>

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/25/inside-big-tobacco-s-academy-of-lies-the-inventor-of-alternative-facts.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gee....... 730 million...... that's right up there with the 871 Billion with a B, that the convenience of driving cars costs Americans each year. (not including fuel and maintenance). Just accidents.

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/29/steep-economic-toll-of-crashes/9715893/


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. False equivalency arguments are so adorable.

      A car's main purpose is transportation, not injury or death.

      Alcohol's main purpose is as a social lubricant or tranquilizer, not injury or death.

      And a pet's main function is companionship and love, not injury or death.

      What is the main function of a gun again?

      And don't say protection because the data does not back that up.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:45 AM

      Protection, sporting, hunting.

      You cannot force a registry or insurance, the 2nd amendment protects Americans from hypocrite liberals such as yourself.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous2:10 PM

      @ 11:45am
      Of course you can. We control hunting by licensing, which is like a registration and we require insurance for every vehicle on the road. Now run along and think up a new talking point.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous4:54 PM

      @ 11:45 you moron

      the 2nd amendment does not protect you from paying for insurance or registration on guns.

      in fact the 2nd amendment doesn't even give an individual the right to own a gun. that is the bastardization of the constitution by you consertards.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous1:59 AM

      Uh 2:10, hunting licenses are controlled by states and have nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment. And uh, likewise, vehicles are also not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution and are also regulated by the states and are also not a Constitutional right per the 2nd Amendment.

      Please learn a little something about the Constitution and it's guarantees to citizens. You just are not very bright unfortunately and probably will never even understand what you are talking about, so you shouldn't engage and show your utter ignorance.

      Likewise 4:54, the 2nd Amendment absolutely guarantees the individual the right to own firearms, that is it's whole purpose, as has been upheld by the Supreme Court protecting citizens against people like you who don't understand the Constitution.

      Delete
  11. Then there is the cost of drinking.....

    https://www.cdc.gov/features/alcoholconsumption/index.html

    223.5 Billion with a B.

    ReplyDelete
  12. And even dog bites cost America more each year. Over a billion per year..... and many of the victims are small children.

    https://www.edgarsnyder.com/dog-bite/dog-bite-statistics.html

    https://dogbitelaw.com/dog-bite-statistics/dog-bite-statistics

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:22 AM

    And yet, Gryphen, if that's really even your actual name which I highly doubt, you make ZERO effort to distinguish between the handful of admittedly unfortunate accidental oopsies* and the millions upon millions of firearms injuries caused during responsible firearms use by owners exercising the very God-given rights that Jeebus Hisself wrote into the Bible! (Pretty sure it's somewhere in the Book of Endometriosis, tho I dont have my copy of the Good Book handy at the moment) Can I hear an Amen!!!

    So next you feel the need to prattle on about gun deaths and injuries (waaahhhhh wahhhhh.....) take about 2 seconds to pull on your big boy pants and think about all the patriotic anonymous stocky middle aged men who excitedly throw open the front door each day and proudly announce "Hey, Marge!! I shot somebody today!!! C'mon, kids! Let's get a pizza for dinner tonight!"

    smh

    *oopsies is a registered service mark of The American Gun Owners of America, LLC

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous10:33 AM

    OT?
    http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/25/521499081/ooops-pac-runs-tv-ads-thanking-some-republicans-for-repealing-obamacare?live=1&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170325

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:43 AM

      bannon anti-banter>
      The Hill reports that Bannon stood before the caucus and — presumably speaking for the president — told them they had “no choice” but to vote for the American Health Care Act.

      “Guys, look. This is not a discussion. This is not a debate. You have no choice but to vote for this bill,” Bannon reportedly told the assembled members

      Axios states that one Freedom Caucus member replied: “You know, the last time someone ordered me to something, I was 18 years old. And it was my daddy. And I didn’t listen to him, either.”

      http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/the-last-time-someone-ordered-me-to-something-i-was-18-and-it-was-my-daddy-conservative-smacks-down-bannon/

      Delete
  15. Anonymous11:00 AM

    RIGGED!
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court_us_58d681b5e4b03787d35908d1?86ic3fhwe74nxko6r&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

    ReplyDelete
  16. WA Skeptic1:25 PM

    Send the ER bills to the NRA or la Pierre. They want the carnage, they can pay for it.

    ReplyDelete

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