A Case for Universal Healthcare
If we only get one thing from this pandemic, I hope it is the total revamping of the healthcare system and another look at universal healthcare in the United States.
The bottom line to ending a lot of the pain, suffering, and loss we have experienced is rooted in the fact that many people in this country are suffering from conditions that were exacerbated by COVID-19.
From obesity and cardio-respiratory diseases to autoimmune diseases to diabetes and other conditions that weaken the human system, it was easy pickings for this virus to take the most vulnerable among us.
We found that African-Americans were most susceptible. It has nothing to do with physical characteristics and everything to do with the fact that so many are at a disadvantage because of a lack of health care. They often find themselves in positions that are not the most conducive to providing the benefits that allow them regular doctor visits and treatment or the kind of maintenance meds so many of us need as we move through the years.
This isn’t a cultural or biological thing, it is the remnants of racism that created the chasm.
In Louisiana, blacks comprise about 33 percent of the population, yet account for 70 percent of the COVID-19 deaths. In Michigan, the infected population was 33 percent black and the death toll was 40 percent.
There’s a whole class of people in the United States who fall into the group of working poor – those with jobs that do not provide adequate income. If you have a family of four and your pre-tax income in less than $24,339, you are considered part of the working poor. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 40.6 million people – 12.7 percent of the population – live in poverty.
For many of them, there is no safety net, no security, nothing to give them access to doctors and hospitals, and meds that can save their lives.
When the Affordable Care Act was being negotiated, it was a much different animal, providing much wider coverage and benefits than those in the watered-down version that slipped through Congress.
Republicans were outraged, of course, because it meant their pipeline to campaign funds to keep them in office was being hit negatively. The medical and pharmaceutical companies were not happy in other words. They want it all with no government restrictions or parity.
We see that, of course, in the zealots who promised to dismantle the whole damn thing when this administration sank its muddy roots into the White House.
Those roots, thickened by heavy applications of bull manure, have not taken hold, and, hopefully, this pandemic will choke them out.
I mean, it was all fine and well as long as it was mostly the poor dying off.
These conservatives who would deny grandma the kind of coverage she really needs were the first to buy out the supplies of facemasks, protective gloves, and hand sanitizer, as well, I am sure, the massive supplies of toilet paper because, well, we know what they are full of, don’t we?
Of the 18 countries that offer true universal health coverage only France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have been hit hard by the virus. Australia, Canada, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland, which also cover their citizens with universal coverage, have not been hit as severely.
The fear-mongers on the right mumble about being staunchly against universal healthcare, warning that it is a form of socialism. But, other forms of socialism don’t seem to bother them, like our veterans’ services, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, public schools, police and fire services, roads and infrastructure, food inspection, and any other services that are paid for by our taxes.
And, I don’t see any of the fat cats offering to turn over the money they will be receiving from the government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I think what’s really at stake here is how their portfolios are so intertwined with the health and pharmaceutical industries. Heaven forbid their dividends to shrink a bit if universal care takes hold. I mean, what’s more important, their Chateaubriand or the life of a poor person?
Opponents point to the costs universal healthcare would impose on the federal budget, but somehow, we seemed able to come up with the money to bail out small businesses, we came up with the money to give everybody a little financial assistance – tax-free, I might add – during this time, and somehow we came up with the money for equipment for our frontline of doctors, nurses, first responders, and facilities. Not enough, not as much as they deserve, but we are told more is on the way.
COVID-19 preys on the weak, but with proper care, there would be fewer weak among us and the spiral would not have been so severe.
But, nobody was listening.
Nobody cared.
Nobody noticed the disparity in coverage and care.
Except for those who lost loved ones because they could not afford care.
I’ve known people with jobs who have had struggles paying for their meds. They split their prescriptions, taking them at half dose, figuring a little is better than nothing; they tough it out because they have no other choice.
Look, I am no fan of visiting the doctor’s office.
I’ve done more than my share in doctor’s offices, been poked and prodded more than I care to admit. I admire them, I praise their dedication, marvel at their knowledge, sit in awe of what they can do.
But, I can think of many more pleasant things to do with my time than to be poked and prodded. Still, I understand their importance, their place in this world, and thank them from the bottom of my heart for bailing me out of some very nasty situations.
I was lucky.
I was insured.
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