Washington Post
It turns out that gun violence isn't just a public safety issue—it's also extremely expensive for taxpayers.
The
total national hospital costs associated with firearm assault injuries
ballooned to almost $700 million in 2010, according to a new analysis by The Urban Institute. And the
bulk of those costs—almost three-quarters of them, to be more
precise—aren't being paid for by the perpetrators, victims, or insurance
companies, but rather by the American public.
"Most of this cost
is paid for by the public, either through public insurance programs
such as Medicaid or as uncompensated care for the uninsured," the
Institute said in its report. "In a time of restricted public resources,
these findings suggest that significant public resources could be saved
or redirected if effective gun-violence prevention strategies could be
identified."