The Covid-19 epidemic is raging in the United States and the number of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus is increasing day by day, and, seriously, the number of patients who require hospitalization to receive care for the infection.
So much so that in several cities, especially in New York, there is fear that the hospital system will collapse before a probable wave of patients as the epidemic worsens.
But if a person must be hospitalized, who pays for their medical treatment?
–
Medical treatment for a patient with severe involvement from Coivd-19 disease is complex and expensive. (AP)
A recently passed law in the US Congress guaranteed that the cost of getting a coronavirus diagnostic test, which can cost hundreds or a few thousand dollars, will be free for people. But the cost of medical treatment is something else.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "According to a study by researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a hospital treatment of a coronavirus patient in the United States can exceed on average $ 20,000 (taking the cost of caring for pneumonia as a reference), in 2018 figures. And that amount may be higher depending on the location of the country in which the patient is and of major complications that the patient may face, and less if the patient’s needs are less severe. “data-reactid =” 36 “> According to a study by researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a Hospital treatment of a coronavirus patient in the United States can exceed on average $ 20,000 (taking the cost of caring for pneumonia as a reference), in 2018 figures. And that amount may be higher depending on the country’s location in the that the patient is found and of major complications that he may face, and less if the patient’s needs are less severe.
Unlike in Europe and countries in Asia and Latin America, the United States does not have a universal health system or a state-run hospital network in which patients receive free medical care. In the United States, the vast majority of hospitals and medical centers are private entities, or part of universities or religious institutions, but in general, their services have a cost that the patient has to pay.
Emergency care is not denied to people, whether they have insurance or not, but once services are provided, bills inevitably come. And they are usually very bulky. Although it is certainly not clear what the scenario will be given the magnitude of the current crisis.
Those who have health insurance, paid in full by them or in part also by their employer, have a significant part of the costs of their care covered, but not 100%: monthly premiums, deductibles, copays and other surcharges are borne by the patient and when the amount is very high, the insured must face expenses in the order of thousands of dollars. And depending on the level of insurance coverage (the most expensive premiums have more coverage, but many opt for less complete but cheaper insurance) is the scope of the items covered, deductible and other costs that the patient has to cover.
Those without insurance, on the other hand, must cover the total amount, which can be many times higher. The inability to pay medical bills leads thousands of Americans to bankruptcy each year.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "According to Healthline“There are 30 million people in the United States without health insurance and 44 million with insufficient insurance, something that has worsened after the Donald Trump government cut provisions of the Health Care Act passed during the Barack Obama administration.” data-reactid = “41”> According to Healthline, there are 30 million people in the United States without health insurance and 44 million with insufficient insurance, something that has worsened after the Donald Trump government cut provisions of the Health care approved during the Barack Obama administration.
That is a weakness on a national scale when faced with an emergency like the present epidemic.
People with lower incomes can receive care through public Medicaid insurance and retirees who were listed under public Medicare insurance. But for the vast majority of the population, medical care and medications come at a huge cost, even if you have insurance, which is exacerbated if the treatment required is highly complex and long-lasting, such as that given to patients with Covid-19 with severe conditions.
If they do not have health insurance, the patient may be responsible for paying those $ 20,000 or more for their coronavirus treatment, and if they do, the amounts may be in the range of $ 1,300 to $ 2,000. But it can all be even more onerous if the hospital or doctors and other specialists, who often bill separately, are not in the health insurance network and therefore their costs are not covered (or are less so. ) by this one.
Having control or being aware of all those factors when going to an emergency room in the middle of an epidemic is certainly difficult. And if we add to this that patients may also face loss of income due to unemployment or reduction of their work activity, the financial panorama for a person hospitalized for coronavirus is ominous.
–
People line up outside Elmhurst Hospital in New York waiting for tests to diagnose a possible coronavirus infection. (AP Photo / John Minchillo)
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "For example, report TimeDanni Askini was treated for Covid-19 at a Boston area hospital and the bill she received for medical services was nearly $ 35,000. She does not have health insurance and therefore is responsible for paying that sum, money that she simply does not have. “Data-reactid =” 70 “> For example, reports Time, Danni Askini was treated for Covid-19 in a hospital in The Boston area and the bill she received for medical services was almost $ 35,000. She does not have health insurance and therefore is responsible for paying that amount, money that she simply does not have.
The American health system is therefore very inequitable and loaded with injustice. Many have promoted the creation of a universal health care scheme, like those in Europe and several Latin American countries, but none of this has prospered, stuck in the midst of political-ideological struggles.
But it has recently been that broad sectors of the Democratic Party have considered establishing a system called Medicare for All, with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as its major proponents, in which the cost of health care is covered by the state (a scheme similar to Medicare for retirees, in which the person contributes with their taxes) outside of commercial insurance and both in private and public hospitals.
Others have proposed options that expand current coverage without reaching a universal public scheme.
Be that as it may, such a system does not exist in the United States, nor will it exist anytime soon, just as the coronavirus epidemic worsens. Therefore, in the face of the emergency, the need has been mentioned for the huge financial rescue packages (of the order of 2 billion dollars in support of individuals and companies) to also consider reducing the costs of medical care for Covid patients. -19, because they can be an unsustainable burden for patients and a huge liability for hospitals themselves.
The notion that health is a universal right has not yet been sufficiently crystallized in the United States. Something that is urgent and evident in the crisis of the coronavirus epidemic,
—
