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Premature Deaths on the Rise for Uninsured Utahns

The non-profit organization Families USA released a report this week that estimates 2 Utahns between the ages of 25 - 64 die every week because they did not have adequate health care.

The organization's Executive Director Ron Pollack says the Affordable Care Act offers access to coverage for families who struggle to get the health care they need.

"We've got huge numbers of people in the United States, approximately 50 million or 1/6 of our population, who are uninsured. This is not a trivial matter. It really has enormous potential consequences. Some people pay the ultimate price when they don't get that care or don't get it in a timely matter."

The report, "Dying for Coverage," estimates that between 2005 - 2010 more than 130,000 people died prematurely because they could not afford screenings and preventative care. For more information about the link between premature death and lack of health care coverage, or toread the report, go to www.familiesusa.org.
 

At 14-years-old, Kerry began working as a reporter for KVEL “The Hot One” in Vernal, Utah. Her radio news interests led her to Logan where she became news director for KBLQ while attending Utah State University. She graduated USU with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and spent the next few years working for Utah Public Radio. Leaving UPR in 1993 she spent the next 14 years as the full time mother of four boys before returning in 2007. Kerry and her husband Boyd reside in Nibley.