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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMillions of Americans are about to lose their health insurance in a pandemic ( Wendell Potter )
Fri 27 Mar 2020 06.26 EDT Last modified on Fri 27 Mar 2020
The tragic effects of our battle with the novel coronavirus are seemingly endless. But arguably the most mind-blowing is this: the very pandemic that threatens to infect and kill millions is simultaneously causing many to also lose their health coverage at their gravest time of need.
Heres how: the virus has caused a public health crisis so severe that people have been forced to stay home, causing businesses to shutter and lay off workers. And with roughly half of Americans getting their health insurance from their employer, these layoffs mean not only losing their income but also their medical coverage. In other words, just as our need for medical care skyrockets in the face of a global pandemic, fewer will have health insurance or be able to afford it. According to one recent report, the cost of treatment for Covid-19 can run around $35,000. As the patient in the report exclaimed: I was pretty sticker-shocked. I personally dont know anybody who has that kind of money.
So, how did we get to such a dire place? Many will sadly lose their jobs over the coming weeks with one estimate projecting as many as 30%. And as they do, Americans are about to learn something horrifying: how irrational and irresponsible it is for so many to be dependent on employers for health insurance. Take it from me. Im a former health insurance executive who once profited from this system. Its time for it to stop.
America needs to finally get out of the business of linking health coverage to job status. Even in better times, this arrangement was a bad idea from a health perspective. Most Americans whose families depend on their employers for coverage are just a layoff away from being uninsured. And now, when many businesses are shutting down and considering layoffs, its a public health disaster. Across the country were seeing reports of layoffs in almost all industries. As we approach a global recession, some analysts suggest that a million or more US workers will lose their jobs in April alone. Consider what this means for health care in this country.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/27/coronavirus-pandemic-americans-health-insurance?CMP=share_btn_tw
theaocp
(4,236 posts)I guess we deserve this. This is why you negotiate from pie in the sky positions.
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)Couldn't have said it better.
DBoon
(22,363 posts)until they no longer have an employer
CaptYossarian
(6,448 posts)BComplex
(8,049 posts)2naSalit
(86,579 posts)MoonlitKnight
(1,584 posts)Arent so great when you no longer have that union job.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)One could posit, for example ... 'A Pinto is a great car ... until you get rear-ended at high speed' ... and it would be a valid argument.
Pointing out that there is a non-zero number of other cars that are also dangerous to be in when rear-ended does not invalidate the original argument.
Just sayin'
Demsrule86
(68,556 posts)didn't seem to help. I want universal coverage but not M4A.
burrowowl
(17,640 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I have health insurance through my employer, but I completely agree with every word of this.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Hope you are doing well and staying healthy!
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)You be safe too!
stopbush
(24,396 posts)We need to move in this direction as a country.
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)Response to BeckyDem (Original post)
Mike 03 This message was self-deleted by its author.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,490 posts)One crucial difference: In the current instance, they may have no insurance whereas with universal healthcare they would!
How will the Rethugs answer to that one?
KY..............
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Single payer will look very, very good indeed. This crisis is not just the straw that broke the camel's back, it is a full bale.
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)to bring us the New Deal, with Social Security among it's best effort.
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)"It's always darkest before the dawn."
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)To better times for all of us, customerserviceguy.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)Unless you are on the dark side of the Moon, which is somewhat like being in the shadow of a bulbous dictator.