A 2003 study estimated that if all States had primary seat belt laws from 1995 to 2002, over 12,000 lives would have been saved. Failure to implement a primary seat belt law creates a real cost to a States budget for Medicaid and other State medical expenditures. This study estimates the minimum dollars Colorado 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 Colorados 2005 Hospital Discharge Data, including only cases where the external cause of injury was a motor vehicle crash. The total estimated costs to Medicaid, including Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury costs, from motor vehicle crashes for the first year the injury was incurred for Colorado is $58.7 million for the first year and $7.7 million for each year after. In 2006, Colorados seat belt use rate was 80.3%. Based on a 40 percent expected conversion rate, one would expect belt use to increase by 7.88%, and of those newly belted individuals at least 50% would avoid injury (based on seat belt effectiveness in reducing injury). However, the Federal Government reimburses States a portion of their Medicaid expenditures. The reimbursement rate for Colorado is 50.0%. Accounting for this reimbursement, the first-year savings to the State by implementation of a primary seat belt law would be about $1.2 million dollars. Colorado could expect to have saved $7.3 million in the first 5 years and $18.2million over 10 years.


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    Title :

    Estimated Minimum Savings to Medicaid Budget in Colorado 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