A 2003 study estimated that if all States had primary laws from 1995 to 2002, over 12,000 lives would have been saved. Failure to implement a primary belt law creates a real cost to a States budget for Medicaid and other State medical expenditures. This study estimates the minimum dollars Arkansas can expect to save on direct medical costs (primarily paid through Medicaid) by the implementation of a primary seat belt law. The current study analyzed Arkansass 2005 Hospital Discharge Data, including only cases where the external cause of injury was a motor vehicle crash. The total estimated cost paid by Medicaid from motor vehicle crashes is $36 million for the first year and $6.7 million for each year thereafter. In 2005, Arkansass seat belt use rate was 68.3 percent. Based on this conversion rate one would expect belt use to increase by 12.68 percent and of those newly belted individuals, at least 50 percent would avoid injury. In 2005, The Federal Government reimbursed Arkansas at 73.37 percent. Accounting for this reimbursement, the first year savings to the State by implementation of a primary seat belt law would be about $0.6 million. Arkansas could expect to have saved $4.2 million in the first 5 years and $11.1 million over 10 years.


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    Title :

    Estimated Minimum Savings to the Medicaid Budget in Arkansas by Implementing a Primary Seat Belt Law


    Contributors:
    J. Tison (author) / N. Chaudhary (author)

    Publication date :

    2007


    Size :

    12 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English