Thread by @sarahkliff

A few thoughts on how America's patchwork health insurance system may end up interferring with our ability to fight #Covid_19
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For starters, there's the most obvious point: health care in the US is expensive. This makes patients who are told by professionals they need to seek care reticent to do so.

I've written about this a bit in another context at the link below.
vox.com/health-care/20…

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We already have one case of a patient ending up with thousands of dollars of medical debt after seeking care for possible Coronavirus.
miamiherald.com/news/health-ca…
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That patient's case brings up another policy: surprise billing.

There were out-of-network doctors working at the emergency room where he was treated.

Congress debated, but didn't pass, legislation to ban surprise bills in December.

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As @johngraves9 points out, there's also the issue of a pandemic being at the start of the calendar year, when Americans are at the start of their insurance deductibles.

That cost-sharing will likely make patients reticent to seek care.
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Then you get to the cost of the Coronavirus vaccine.

The Trump administration can't guarantee will be affordable to all Americans because, unlike most developed countries, we don't regulate drug prices.

vox.com/science-and-he…

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There are so many issues that come up when you have patients in different health plans, with different types of cost-sharing.

Like this one a patient points out: limits on prescription refills can interfere with disaster preparedness.

https://twitter.com/andrhia/status/1232446448869863424

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Are there others you're thinking of that I missed? Feel free to reach out and tell me about them.

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