NCJ Number
248027
Date Published
August 2014
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This report presents hospital visits for firearm-assault injuries in six states and examines what percentage of that hospital cost is borne by the public.
Abstract
The consequences of gun violence differ significantly by location and social circumstances, and understanding these social and geographic variations is important in helping policymakers determine the scope of gun violence and identify sound policy solutions. This report presents hospital visits for firearm-assault injuries in six states (Arizona, California, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Wisconsin) and examines what percentage of that hospital cost is borne by the public. Findings build on national estimates of firearm-assault injury prevalence and hospital cost. Findings include: among the six states studied, there are substantial differences in firearm-assault injury hospital use, hospital mortality, and the percentage of firearm-assault injury hospital costs borne by the public; hospital use for firearm-assault injury is disproportionately concentrated among young males, particularly young black males, in all six study states; uninsured victims have higher hospital mortality rates for firearm-assault injury in five of six study states; and the public pays a substantial portion of the hospital cost for injuries caused by firearm assault, public health insurance paid 52 percent of the cost nationally in 2010 (19 to 64 percent across the six study states) while the uninsured, whose care is often paid by the public, represented 17 to 59 percent of costs.