United States Department of Transportation
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Abstract: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 State’s budget for Medicaid and other State medical expenditures. This study estimates the minimum dollars Missouri 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 at Missouri’s 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 Missouri was $132.6 million. For subsequent years, the cost is $30.7 million. In 2005, Missouri’s belt use rate was 77.4%. Based on a 40% belt use conversion rate for implementing a primary law, belt use could be expected to increase by 9.04% in Missouri. The Federal government also reimburses a portion of States’ Medicaid expenditures and the 2005 reimbursement rate for Missouri was 61.6%. Accounting for this reimbursement, the first year after implementing a primary law Missouri could save $2.3 million. In terms of cumulative savings, over the next 10 years, Missouri can expect to save at least $46.8 million on their annual budget in medical costs alone by implementing a primary seat belt law in 2007. /Abstract from report summary page/
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