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Gun violence costs stretch beyond the loss of life, two new studies find : NPR


Police tape surrounds Tops Friendly Market the day after the deadly shooting of 10 people on May 14 in Buffalo, NY.

Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Image


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Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Image

To some extent, it is almost impossible to put a dollar figure on the lives ravaged by gun violence or to try to measure the pain when a loved one is killed or seriously injured.

But the researchers of two new studies using federal hospital and healthcare data stress that the consequences of gun deaths and injuries are much deeper, broader and more costly. compared to what was previously known.

In A new study has been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Dr. Zirui Song and colleagues found a 4-fold increase in healthcare spending as a direct result of a non-fatal gun injury.

Dr. Song, Associate Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine at Harvard Medical School, also charted a dramatic increase in other health disorders that undermine a person’s health and well-being.

“In the first year after a non-fatal gun injury, survivors experienced a 40% increase in physical pain or other forms of pain syndrome; a 50% increase in mental disturbances; and a use disorder substance use increased by 85%”, Dr. Song said, during his break from competition at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he practiced internal medicine. He adds that more research is needed into the exact reason why the numbers for addictions and other disorders have risen so dramatically.

“These results are worrying and we, as a research team, find them quite impressive,” he said. “The ripple effects are quite profound and significant for both survivors and family members, I would argue, clinically and economically significant.”

And those effects aren’t just for people injured by bullets. Research shows that family members of survivors can also carry heavy physical and emotional burdens.

“On average, family members, including parents, siblings and children, have a 12 percent increase in mental disorders,” he said.

The study was largely based on healthcare claims data, not hospital survey or discharge data. That allows for a more detailed view of spending than previous studies based on other types of data, says Dr.

“There are really a lot of forgotten survivors, whose health and economic conditions were affected quite profoundly, although they were fortunate to survive,” he told NPR.

And the financial burden for this failure falls largely on taxpayers and employees: Dr. Song’s research shows that 96% of the increase in health care spending on gun injuries is attributable to Medicare and American employers shoulder.

“In direct costs alone, that’s $2.5 billion in healthcare spending in the first year after a non-fatal gun injury,” he said. “This number is much larger if indirect costs in wages or lost productivity are included.”

Research launched this week by Everytown for Gun Safety Dive into that bigger picture and look at a range of direct and indirect costs from all gun violence in the US, resulting in gun deaths and injuries.

“This epidemic is costing our nation $557 billion a year,” said Sarah Burd-Sharps, research director for the gun control advocacy group. “Looking at the economic consequences provides a broader lens to understand how extensive and costly this crisis is.”

The $557 billion figure seems staggering. However, the group said it is looking at the myriad of direct costs associated with gun violence. Researcher Burd-Sharps notes that the numbers range from the immediate cost of a shooting, such as police response, investigation and ambulance service to long-term health care costs. term. The analysis also includes estimates of victims’ lost income, costs incurred by the criminal justice system, mental health care prices, and more.

“Whenever you have to pay with these types of injuries, you have to consider quality of life, which is quite a large number,” she said.

In fact, Burd-Sharps believes the true annual figure is even higher than the report’s estimate that society loses about $1.34 billion a day in pain and suffering associated with all victims of gun violence.

“Honestly, this is a very conservative estimate.” “It includes costs that are directly measurable. It doesn’t include things like trauma to kids who don’t want to go back to school. Impact on businesses or assets, you know, values ​​and taxes. It doesn’t include any of those broader reverberations.”

The new Burd-Sharps are scheduled to testify before two congressional committees this week on the economic impact of gun violence.

She said she will tell lawmakers the group is grateful for their recent federal actions on guns, including measures to encourage states to pass temporary “red flag” legislation. remove firearms from a person deemed dangerous and expand background checks to those between the ages of 18 and 21 wishing to purchase a firearm.

But Burd-Sharps said she will also tell members of Congress that “more is needed to fight this epidemic.”



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