The richest country on earth & in the history of humankind should be better prepared for the #CoronavirusOutbreak. Here are some reasons we’re not:
1. No #MedicareForAll means patients face financial hurdles (co-pays, deductibles, other bills) that deter them from health care...
1. No #MedicareForAll means patients face financial hurdles (co-pays, deductibles, other bills) that deter them from health care...
2. Financial hurdles, unnecessary paperwork, & pointless scrutiny of immigration status when determining health care make it harder for people of color & low-income families to access medical services. #COVID19 will hurt these communities harder because of these unjust processes.
3. We don’t have #PaidSickLeave to allow sick patients the time & financial security to recover. Most of us go to work sick, not because we’re gross or cruel, but because our livelihoods are on the line. Those of us with sick days still go to work cuz our bosses expect them to.
Our klepto-capitalist system values labor but not the people who do that work. Wall Street is worried about how #COVID19 will hurt profiteering, not people. That’s not to say the economic impact of outbreaks don’t matter, but if capitalists really want to lessen the pain, then...
...the ways to protect economies from the #CoronavirusOutbreak is to reduce the number of infections & prevent the spread. We need health systems rooted in human rights (#MedicareForAll), free vaccines, & workplace policies valuing people over short-term profits (#PaidSickLeave).
To anyone asking, “but how can you be so sure?”, I point to our YEARLY experiences with flu: millions infected, hundreds of thousands hospitalized, & tens of thousands die YEARLY because we lack health care as a human right and paid sick leave.
