As Coronavirus dominates the news, there’s a fact that rarely gets noted but is staring us in the face: America’s for-profit health system will make this much worse by denying sick people care & making it unaffordable for many. As a former insurance exec, I know first-hand: (1/6)
America is unique among its peer countries in that we don’t provide healthcare coverage to everyone. And those who do have insurance often can't afford the care they need. This is a moral outrage on a regular day, but it's a public health emergency today for 3 reasons... (2/6)
First: People without insurance (28 million of us) often skip needed care. With coronavirus, this means potentially-infected people won't seek testing, let alone treatment - which also means an infected person who goes untreated could help spread the disease to many others (3/6)
Second: Folks with insurance but who have plans with high deductibles & copays, often delay needed care because they can't afford to see a doctor. This would *also* delay diagnosis of Coronavirus -- and could result in dozens of new cases of the disease. (4/6)
Deductibles re-set on January 1, meaning most Americans haven't met their deductible yet. Therefore, the cost of getting tested (which can be thousands), or of treatment for those infected, may be borne entirely out-of-pocket by the individual. (5/6)
Many rightly demand that any vaccine created for Coronavirus be freely available. But treatment & diagnosis must be, too. The health of the population is more important than my old industry’s profits. The good news? None of these problems would exist with Medicare for All. (6/6)
