It’s to no one’s surprise that the American healthcare system is, for a lack of better words, messed up. With high medical costs, millions of uninsured individuals, and growing monopoly rates, the only real winners are the big-box pharmaceutical companies. But most of us already knew that. For years, there have been pushes towards strengthening the United States healthcare system. And only now have we seen that the key to this isn’t a progressive presidential candidate or even pure policy, but rather a worldwide pandemic. That’s right — COVID-19 may just be the thing that changes American healthcare.
One thing is certain when analyzing the effect of COVID-19 on America; we were far less prepared for a pandemic than countries with universal healthcare systems. Before the crisis even started, the United States had far fewer doctors and hospital beds per capita than most other developed nations. Lynn Blewett, a professor of health policy at the University of Minnesota states, “We don’t really have a system,” in response to the current healthcare condition. In this interpretation, the term “system” implies a unified plan, she says, and the combination of public and private care providers and millions of uninsured people that make up American medicine is just the opposite of that. Based on recent calculations, approximately 28 million people under the age of 65 do not have public or private insurance in the United States. Blewett considers this a major flaw, especially in terms of an outbreak, where even people who have symptoms are unlikely to see a doctor until it gets really severe, for fear of being unable to cover the costs. Even if they do get to see a doctor, they may not have a preexisting relationship that will allow them to get quality care. If you’re looking for a quick laugh that manages to teach you about the absurdity of medical costs, check out the Patriot Act episode with comedian Hasan Minhaj.
This exact dilemma is how COVID-19 has managed to blow out of everyone’s proportions. Individuals left and right are unable to get tested, let alone be admitted into a hospital. There’s growing catch-22’s over patients as doctors must make the decision of giving the ventilator to the 25-year-old or the 60-year-old. Congress is rushing to pass measures that will pay for COVID-19 testing and treatment, many of which may not kick into effect for some time. With all this, the United States is the only industrialized country that doesn’t have federally-mandated paid sick leave. This is quite possibly the most detrimental factor in the COVID-19 spread. Many workers who are not able to work from home are forced to choose between risking their lives at work or filing for unemployment and struggling with paying bills.
Nicolas Ziebarth, a Cornell University professor of policy analysis, says things like universal access to healthcare and paid sick leave mandates are just two of the things that could improve the bad social safety network. Blewett states this outbreak could be the very thing to finally highlight those policies as the health of uninsured people normally don’t usually have such a clear impact on everybody. However, this outbreak shows that “it’s to all of our benefit to make sure everybody has access”.
It’s clear to say the Coronavirus pandemic will have a lasting impression in history in more ways than one. From administering distance between individuals to increased sanitary conditions in public spaces, the effects of COVID-19 will be everywhere for quite some time. Though arguably the most important impact will be on our healthcare system. If it doesn’t change now, it might as well never change. Perhaps I’m idealistic, or I expect too much of the government, but it’s reasonable enough to say a worldwide pandemic is exactly what a nation needs to fix its tired ways.
Stay safe and stay home. Together, we will get through this.