Jul 19, 2020 3 min read

The novel coronavirus has caused record unemployment rates across the country with Southwestern Pennsylvania being no exception. At the same time, 5.4 million Americans have lost their health care this past spring, an even larger loss than the 2008 recession. More people are returning to work as phased reopening continues, but reopening depends on healthy employees and customers. With new cases of COVID-19 flaring up across the country, a fully active economy is not guaranteed anytime soon. Unfortunately, fluctuating employment will continue to exacerbate the rise of COVID-19. This is because, for many people, a job loss equals a loss in health insurance.

In Washington and Greene counties, nearly 40% of the population receives health insurance through their employer, more than any other source (like Medicare or VA Benefits) (American Community Survey). Identifying cases of COVID-19 is key to getting people back to work; however, when people are unemployed (and therefore without health insurance), the fear of a surprise medical bill may deter them from getting tested. This house of cards then leaves all of us at increased risk of infection and illness. This pandemic has highlighted the flaws of having health insurance tied to employment.

Drive-through testing is a vital source of information to the area’s COVID-19 prevalence, but some of these tests require a referral from a physician. Depending on your insurance plan, that referral and test could cost you $1,000 with a high deductible plan. And what if you are uninsured? Reports from Philadelphia have already shown that the fear of the cost leads many to stay home (WHYY, March 2020). This fragmented response to COVID-19 is the manifestation of a broken health care system that is profit-driven rather than patient-centered. For profit, corporate insurance companies dictate where you can receive care. Our region is world renowned for its health care system. Access should be considered a right. A health care system that is not based on employment is the simplest solution to this dangerous cycle.

A single-payer system, like Medicare For All, grants individuals the freedom to seek care regardless of employment status. Individuals choose their doctors and pharmacy without restrictions. Hospitals can allocate resources toward the needs of patients, instead of money-making, elective surgeries or bureaucratic insurance claims that increase profit margins. And people have access to medical treatment and testing, regardless of how the economy is behaving.

As long as coronavirus continues to spread employment will fluctuate. Our access to health care should not be a concern. Separating health care and employment would improve population health. By transitioning to a Medicare For All system, we can begin to focus on containing the virus. Only then will we be able to safely and confidently reopen businesses.

Mitchell Bayne

Cecil