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Recent studies report that the health effects of being uninsured range from a higher risk for death to a lower likelihood of receiving health-screening tests. Data on the effect of insurance status on trauma outcomes are scanty. These authors reviewed data from the National Trauma Data Bank from 2002 through 2006 to examine in-hospital mortality rates by insurance status in patients aged ≥18 years with blunt or penetrating trauma. Insurance categories were commercial (including automobile and workers' compensation), managed care organization, Medicare, Medicaid, and uninsured. Commercial insurance was used as the reference category.
Complete data were available for 687,091 patients. In an analysis adjusted for sex, race, age, Injury Severity…