With the United States experiencing the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world, the facade of our health system has come crashing down. We simply cannot afford to go on with the current structure, starting with how we provide access to care.
Twenty-two million Americans have filed jobless claims in the last four weeks. Not only have they lost their incomes, they may have lost something even more valuable during a pandemic: health insurance.
Even before the past few weeks, there were about 5.1 million uninsured American adults who are at high risk of a serious illness if they become infected with coronavirus. These people are vulnerable through no fault of their own even though they live in the richest country in the world.
While losing a job can be dangerous for a person’s well-being in any country, it is particularly hazardous in the U.S. A new report by the consulting firm Health Management Associates estimates that 12 million to 35 million Americans, including workers and their family members, could lose employer-based health insurance over the next few months. This situation is likely to last long after the immediate crisis abates, as was true after the last recession in 2008, which resulted in at least 9 million losing health insurance…
To read the entire article from Los Angeles Times, click https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-04-16/coronavirus-health-insurance-unemployment
