Coronavirus, the pandemic that has killed 23,970 globally and infected 529,591, according to the LA Times as of March 25, calls for urgent changes to our healthcare system.
More accessible testing for COVID-19 and universal healthcare coverage including guaranteed paid sick leave are immediate changes that need to be addressed in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.
While countries like South Korea have acted quickly to ensure its population be tested, testing roughly 20,000 people per day, precise numbers for exactly how many people in the U.S. have tested has not been reported.
However, as of March 20, Politico reported that 138,521 tests have been given.
According to The Guardian, between March 8 and the morning of March 11, only 77 people in the U.S. were tested.
As of March 20, reports have announced the potential arrival of at-home coronavirus tests.
Yet, they are ranging in price from $150-200, which is unaffordable for many Americans and also have issues with accuracy.
With testing widely unavailable, COVID-19 continues to spread through contagious people who are unaware they are carriers.
As of late, testing has remained mainly accessible to celebrities and other wealthy people.
Actors like Idris Elba have tested positive for coronavirus, who is able to take the test while exhibiting no symptoms, according to a video posted to his Twitter account on March 16.
“Perhaps that’s been the story of life,” President Trump said during a White House briefing on March 18, when asked about celebrities getting preferential treatment regarding testing.
Besides testing, Americans are faced with the burden of immense hospital bills.
In a Century Foundation article, it is stated, “The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the average hospital costs for inpatient admissions stemming from COVID-19 could range from approximately $10,000–$20,000, depending on the nature of complications.”
On March 19, Time.com reported about a patient receiving a final bill of $34,927.43 after testing and treatment.
For people who are insured (and 27.5 million people did not have health insurance coverage in 2018, according to the United States Census Bureau) there are still matters of co-pay, co-insurance, deductibles, and being in-network.
Health insurance is largely tied to employment and the COVID-19 health crisis has left many people jobless, a readjustment to the system is an urgent matter.
For hourly workers who receive healthcare benefits through jobs, there is the possibility of losing benefits if enough hours are not accrued, an ironic consequence of becoming sick and needing said benefits.
According to a Forbes article from March 20 by Jack Kelly, “Bank of America has come out with a frightening prediction—by next week, three million people will have filed for unemployment benefits due to the economic effects precipitated by the coronavirus.”
Whether people have received health insurance through their jobs or not, that is a massive increase in people without the financial means to carry them through a potential health crisis.
For many workers who receive no benefits through their job, like most restaurant workers, many can not afford the loss of income by skipping more than a day of work.
This increases the likelihood of both remaining sick or getting sicker, as well as spreading the illness to others.
One perception of coronavirus is that it only will harm the elderly and the immunocompromised, but what if many young people don’t know if they’re immunocompromised?
How many young people have gotten a comprehensive check-up within the past few years to determine this?
This is not cheap even for the insured and it is unaffordable for the uninsured.
According to the World Policy Center, the U.S. is one of three high-income nations that does not guarantee sick pay.
With a healthcare system that is not supported by the government, hospitals are ill-equipped to handle the increasing number of cases.
Notably, there is a shortage of masks and ventilators could be affected next, being crucial in an illness that attacks the respiratory system.
China was able to rapidly create new facilities to accommodate their growing number of patients.
As of March 17, Spain, the country with the second-highest amount of coronavirus cases in Europe, has nationalized its hospitals.
Changes to our current healthcare system have been heavily discussed particularly throughout the Democratic presidential primary, but seeing how our current system has failed at handling this pandemic will open more people’s eyes to the necessity of socialized medicine.
The ramifications of a broken healthcare system in the US have been exposed and the modifications needed are more pressing than ever.
Health care is a right and the U.S.’s response to coronavirus is living proof.