COVID's still here. So, why isn't treatment free anymore?
For all the ways President Donald Trump botched in his response to the coronavirus pandemic — and boy howdy, was it a long list — let's give a wee bit of credit where credit is due. "The president has made it very clear," then-Vice President Mike Pence said in April 2020, "we don't want Americans to worry about the cost of getting a test or the cost of getting treatment" for COVID-19.
This week, that federal program is winding down due to Senate Republicans balking at the Biden administration's request for an additional $22.5 billion to continue the battle against COVID. That means if you're one of the 28 million Americans who are uninsured — and who for two years now could have taken at least some comfort in the fact that the White House was reimbursing providers for coronavirus-related care — you're now on the hook for associated testing and medical bills. If you also happen to be one of the 25,459 Americans to test positive for COVID-19 yesterday, that's pretty scary — not to mention, infuriatingly arbitrary.
But while "Medicare for all" tends to be treated as a tentacle of America's socialism boogeyman, Trump's (CARES) Act was essentially "Medicare for COVID," Princeton University economist Janet Currie told Quartz in April 2021. That is to say, COVID-19 became a kind of mini-experiment in what it would be like to not have the ax of medical debt hanging over your head if you needed specific-to-COVID care.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
By no stretch of the imagination was it a perfectly implemented program. Also problematic: There was no requirement to tell patients upfront that their COVID treatment would be covered, leading many uninsured would-be patients not to seek care (and in extreme cases, even die as a result). But the program's shortcomings only serve to emphasize how vital it really was: Indeed, "in the U.S., we are so accustomed to paying out of pocket for essential health care that when it is provided for free, it is a foreign concept," The Nation wrote this winter, noting that at the time, a "significant barrier to vaccination [was] that some people think they will be charged for it."
Still, there will be plenty of people who shrug off the end of the program, especially since vaccinated people are so unlikely to go to the hospital (and thus accrue crippling medical bills) for COVID. True enough, the vast majority of people who will go bankrupt due to catching COVID, or die failing to seek prohibitively expensive treatment, will likely be anti-vaxxers. But that's far from a reason not to care, or fight for the program's continuation: "We don't use the medical-care system as a way of meting out justice," Matt Wynia, a doctor and ethicist at the University of Colorado, previously explained to The Atlantic. "We don't use it to punish people for their social choices." Neither should financial punishment be meted out to those who catch a contagious disease, no matter what their beliefs.
But even more than that, the takeaway from our brief period of Medicare-for-COVID ought to be how easy it was to do once politicians decided they actually wanted it. Don't let anyone tell you universal healthcare isn't possible; we've already had a taste.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Why au pairs might become a thing of the past
Under The Radar Brexit and wage ruling are threatening the 'mutually beneficial arrangement'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Less than total recall
Editor's Letter Why our brains want to forget the darkest days of the pandemic
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'A wonky bureaucratic tweak has dramatically changed how Americans drive'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
It's not really about Biden's brain — unless it is
Talking Points Depending on who you ask, the renewed focus on the president's mental acuity is an election-year distraction, a legitimate point of concern, and sometimes both
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'The influx of foreign-born workers has helped the native born'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The politics of music: should political rallies use well-known songs?
Talking Point The Smiths star Johnny Marr is latest musician to object to use of his music at a Donald Trump rally
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published