Today’s News: 46% of College Grads Not Interested in Insurance, New York #1 in Staged Auto Accident Fraud and Uninsured ICU Patients More Likely to Die

Posted in Health Insurance , Student Health Insurance

May 21st, 2010

Health insurance is a hot topic today as we find that young people starting their lives are not interested in coverage, while we see that those who forgo coverage have an increased chance of death. And in auto insurance news, we see that the Big Apple has received an unwanted distinction after raking in the most staged auto accidents claims.

Nearly Half of College Grads Aren’t Interested in Health Insurance

A new survey from eHealthInsurance revealed that one-in-five (21 percent) recent college graduates are uninsured, while less than one-third are able to confidently define basic health insurance technology.

But even more interesting is that while health care reform legislation was partially designed to make sure younger people are healthy and insured, the study found that 46 percent of those surveyed would prefer to live on their own and without health insurance after graduation, rather than live with their parents and be insured. (Market Watch)

New York #1 in Staged Auto Accident Fraud

According to the New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud, New York City has been named the nation’s number one municipality for staged auto accident claims. The stats come from a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) that found 1,304 claims involving staged auto accidents were generated in NYC from 2007 to 2009.

Tampa, Florida was known as the worst city for auto insurance fraud, but according to the NICB report, the city only had 562 staged claims. (Property-Casualty.com)

Study Finds Uninsured ICU Patients Are More Likely to Die

A new study released by the University of Pennsylvania has found that individuals who enter intensive care units (ICUs) in Pennsylvania without health insurance are 21 percent more likely to die within 30 days than patients with private insurance.

The study showed that critically ill patients without insurance were more likely to arrive to the ICU in advanced stages of an illness because they had not sought care previously. Also, those without insurance were found to not prefer being kept on life support as long as insured patients, decreasing their potential life span. (Reuters)