Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
Along with the incalculable toll on victims and their families, gun violence in the United States also exacts another heavy cost: more than $1 billion a year in medical bills, according to a new report (Source: “Gun Violence Costs U.S. More Than $1 Billion a Year in Hospital Bills,” CBS News, July 20, 2022).
That figure only accounts for the initial health costs of hospital care for people who are shot, according to a report released by the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee ahead of a hearing earlier this week on the economic impact of gun violence.
Every year, firearms-related injuries cause 30,000 initial in-patient hospital stays, each of which result in average treatment costs of $31,000, and 50,000 initial emergency room visits that run an average of $1,500 a piece, according to the report, which cited a study by the Government Accountability Office.
Earlier this year, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released a data graphic displaying analysis that found that both homicides and suicides have significantly increased in Ohio over the past two decades and firearms have been used in a greater percentage of those deaths.