Guns—Injuries and Fatalities - The Cost Of Firearm Injuries

The CDC predicts that a time may come when the number of deaths and injuries related to firearms will surpass the number of deaths and injuries related to automobile accidents nationwide. Unlike most car crash victims, who are privately insured, most gunshot victims are on public assistance or uninsured. According to the CDC, the cost of firearm fatalities per person is the highest of any injury-related death. A study by Philip J. Cook and colleagues estimated the costs of gunshot injuries nationwide in 1994 at $2.1 billion, of which taxpayers paid $1.1 billion ("The Medical Costs of Gunshot Injuries in the United States," Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 282, no. 5, August 4, 1999). When lost productivity, lost quality of life, and pain and suffering are added to medical costs, estimates of the annual total cost of firearm violence range from $20 billion to $100 billion.

Emergency room staff members report that many victims of gun-related injuries incur multiple wounds. The more damaged the victim, the higher the cost of his or her medical care.

Medical care for the typical gunshot patient admitted to the hospital costs $101,000, not including physician fees, according to a 1996 estimate by Keith Ghezzi, an emergency-room physician and former medical director at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. For those patients who suffer debilitating injuries as a result of gunfire, such as the loss of the use of arms and legs, the costs are much higher.

In the report "Hospitalization Charges, Costs, and Income for Firearm-Related Injuries at a University Trauma Center" (Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 273, no. 22, June 14, 1995), Kenneth Kizer and colleagues considered how much hospitals are actually reimbursed for firearm-related injury costs. For instance, one hospital studied recovered only 38% of the total hospital charges accrued. The hospital had a loss of $2.2 million due to uninsured gunshot victims. Hospitals typically cover losses from uninsured patients through charges to patients covered by Medicare, health maintenance organizations, and other insurance plans. The researchers concluded that private health insurance pays for the majority of the treatment for firearm-related injuries even though it may cover only about one-fourth of the total injury victims. As a result, taxpayers and insurance holders pay the costs of firearm violence.