The Exploding Costs of Gunfire

By Dick Thompson/Washington, with reporting by Julie Johnson/Washington

When someone is shot in New York City, the average cost that person incurs in medical treatment is $9,646. The figure does not include ambulance costs, follow-up care, medication or rehabilitation. It also escalates if intensive care is required, reaching as much as $150,000 per patient. Much of the financial burden for the injury, moreover, is borne by the public. A study at a San Francisco hospital noted that 86% of the expenses incurred by firearm injuries are paid out of taxes.

Guns and violence have, therefore, become a part of the nation's debate over health-care costs. The President cited guns as a reason for rising medical bills in his address to Congress two weeks ago, and last week Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed Senator Bill Bradley's call for a 25% sales tax on "the purveyors of violence." The levy would go toward funding health care.

The cost of treating firearm injuries in the U.S. exceeds $4 billion a year, according to congressional and gun-control-group estimates. One study of spinal-cord injuries in Detroit found that 40% resulted from gunshots. Says New York Congressman Major Owens: "We cannot expect to rein in the costs of our health-care system if emergency rooms are overflowing with victims of gun violence."

While the 500-plus members of the Clinton health-care task force considered everything from defining who is a part-time worker to estimating the number of jobs lost because of reform, little attention was paid to violence. That may soon change. Dr. David Satcher, Clinton's newly appointed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has identified violence as a public health problem. Clinton's tool for coming up with new ideas, however, is an old one -- a task force composed of senior officials from six different % agencies, including Justice, Education and Agriculture. As with health care, all options are being considered, even federal controls on firearms. The panel is due to report early next year.