Firearm injuries cost Coloradans millions in medical bills each year, according to the Center for Improving the Value of Healthcare (CIVHC).
In 2022 alone, a total of $8.4 million in medical claims related to firearm injuries were filed statewide; More than 70% of those claims were for accidental or unintentional injuries.
CIVHC manages a database of health care claims for all commercial health plans, Medicare, and Health First Colorado, the state Medicaid program; Cari Frank, vice president of communications and marketing for CIVHC, said those claims provide detailed information about what services were provided, the cost of treatment, the location of treatment, the resulting diagnosis and more.
With this information, the nonprofit organization is tasked with reporting data on health care and quality, as well as analyzing the frequency and costs of treatments to control costs and improve the health of the general population. . The subject of these reports is often requested by members of the public, the legislature, and the Colorado healthcare industry. Frank said they investigated the gunshot injuries based on a state legislator’s request:
“We receive a lot of data from the Colorado Department of Public Health on mortality related to firearm injuries,” Frank said. “If people are dying, they have that data in a large database, but we don’t have the full picture of what injuries are occurring that don’t necessarily result in death, that actually cause harm and are expensive to treat.” the people too. Therefore, this analysis attempts to fill some gaps and understand firearm injuries.”
Frank said it’s important to note that CIVHC does not have access to federal health care claims (made through Tricare or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)) or a portion of claims from self-insured employers, but the database includes about 75%. of all Coloradans with health insurance. He added that claims are based on each appointment or service a person receives, so there may be multiple claims for the same firearm injury.
The analysis included all payment claims related to firearm injuries between 2016 and 2022, which revealed that the claims rate (total claim volume per 100,000 people in the database) had grown by 53% in those six years. Unintentional injuries experienced the largest growth (143% among youth; 60% among adults) and accounted for more than 5,200 of the more than 7,000 claims made in 2022.
“The inadvertent piece was a lightbulb for me,” Frank said. “We need to really understand why those injuries occur and how we could implement some public health initiatives or programs to make people aware that this is a problem: Guns tend to accidentally hurt people more than they protect. or intentionally hurting people.”
PREVENTION EFFORTS
Because Mesa County has had notably high rates of suicide (with or without a firearm) in the past, there are several suicide prevention initiatives in the area; While they primarily focus on self-inflicted and intentional firearm injuries, advocating for overall gun safety is often an important component.
The VA Western Colorado Health Care System maintains a suicide prevention program that raises awareness of veteran suicide risks, offers veteran-focused mental health resources, and distributes cable gun locks to gun stores , shooting ranges and any interested member of the community.
“You cannot hand over a firearm; “a cable gun lock allows some time and distance between someone who is struggling with suicidal thoughts and a very lethal means, like a firearm,” said Rainy Reaman, VA suicide prevention coordinator in western Colorado. “So, distributing free cable locks to temporarily, voluntarily and securely store a firearm (has been one mode of intervention).”
Braydon Gear, VA Veterans Outreach Coordinator in Western Colorado, added that cable gun locks are also an effective, general firearm safety feature because they ensure a gun does not discharge when not in use. . In the first three quarters of the local VA’s fiscal year, more than 2,000 cable locks were distributed on the Western Slope.
VA Suicide Prevention RN Michael Netzer, who distributes gun locks and support resources to firearms establishments throughout the region, said he noticed that one of the locks’ best selling points is that they protect to others as much as they protect the owner.
“Veterans, by nature, tend to protect other people, and you appeal to their sense of duty when you give them that information,” Netzer said. “That’s an important aspect of the whole project.”
Locks are available at most Grand Junction gun stores, free of charge, to anyone in the community.
“If you look at the rates, we had the largest increases in unintentional injuries among children under 18,” Frank said. “So what can we do to focus on making sure the guns are locked up, that they don’t get into the hands of kids who might be playing with them or whatever might be going on?”
INJURY REDUCTION
Beyond safe gun storage, Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Mark Anderson said firearm injuries can be reduced, if not avoided, by operating with caution and a thorough understanding of the rules. of security. Anderson, who also trains cadets and county deputies on firearms, said cadets must memorize the four rules of firearm safety (and a fifth of his own) before they are allowed to handle one.
According to Anderson, the first rule is that all weapons should be treated as if they were loaded; second, never let the muzzle of a gun point at anything you are not willing to destroy; Third, keep your finger off the trigger and off the trigger guard until the sights are on target and you are ready to shoot; Fourth, always be sure of your goal and what lies beyond it.
“We can look at one of those violations and not have a tragic accident or a negligent termination, (but) when you start compounding them you’re going to make mistakes,” Anderson said. “An example is if you have the barrel pointed in an unsafe direction and your finger on the trigger. “You start adding two of them together, (and) that’s when we would see errors from a very basic entry level.”
He added that he teaches cadets a fifth rule of his own: Never handle or handle a firearm you are not familiar with.
“Shotguns may be similar, but when you break them down, there can be big differences, like the safeties in different places,” Anderson said. “If you’re not familiar with it, I always tell you not to touch it and ask someone who knows.”
Asking experts for advice is not only the safest decision, but also something that most firearms enthusiasts welcome with open arms. Netzer said that when he conducts suicide prevention campaigns and distributes cable locks to local firearms stores, he often encounters the same response:
“I go to gun stores, I go to (gun) clubs, I was at the NRA banquet a while ago, pawn shops, stuff like that… I don’t know if there’s anything in the water right now, but the En the last four or five places I’ve gone, they pretty much said the exact same way: ‘(it’s) for the good of the cause,’” Netzer said.
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