The journal article says that Medicare and Medicaid patients were not included in this study.

The study population, then, included neither elderly or low-income people, all of whom tend to have more medical problems.

This means the study population was more representative of the total population in the U.S.

Medpage Today

“People without health insurance are 40% more likely to die than those with private insurance, according to a new study whose authors say the finding underscores the need to expand coverage to the 46 million who lack it.

“According to the report, published today in the Journal of Public Health, lack of health insurance was a factor in the death of as many as 45,000 people in 2005.”

Source: Medpage Today, September 17, 2009

Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 10.2105/AJPH.2008.157685. (Online prior to publication), September 17, 2009