Uninsured or Medicaid stroke patients do not receive the same quality of care pre-hospital admission, based on a University of Florida Health study, according to Medical Xpress.
The study looked at 1.5 million hospital admissions between 2002 and 2011. The Journal of Neurosurgery published the study.
Here are five things to know:
1. Stroke patients that are uninsured or insured by Medicaid have a greater risk of dying, longer hospital stay and unimpressive outcomes, compared to privately-insured stroke patients.
2. These patients were also at greater risk of contracting an additional medical issue during their hospital stay.
3. While 4.4 percent of privately insured stroke patients died in the hospital, 5.1 percent of Medicare stroke patients died in the hospital.
4. Maryam Raman, principal investigator of the study, emphasized that the discrepancy in deaths involving stroke patients may be reflective of pre-hospital care.
5. Researchers concluded uninsured and Medicaid patients don't have access to healthcare like privately-insured patients, resulting in their worsened state of health by the time they're admitted to the hospital.