A recent edition of the ADN included a lengthy article describing the impacts resulting from health insurers choosing to abandon paying the cost of COVID-19 care. Initially, the health insurers decided to waive most of the co-pays and deductibles for COVID-19 treatment, but now that they supposedly “… had gained a better understanding of the virus...” they are expecting individuals to cough up big bucks for treatment. As a result, hospitalized people are having to pay anywhere from a few thousand dollars to over $150,000.
Unfortunately, these practices expose individuals to uncertainty, confusion and expenses that are like those due to cancer, diabetes and other serious, costly illnesses. These illnesses enable profit margins for national health insurance companies in the billions of dollars, raising doubts about the real reason why they have decided not to pay for COVID care. According to Dr. Marvin Mallek, “The inhumanity of our health care system and the tragedies it creates …” will hurt and devastate many people financially, while at the same time enriching insurance companies.
For the life of me, I can’t think of a better argument for getting rid of private insurance and instituting a single-payer health care system, one that treats everyone with dignity, respect and reasonable costs. Much of the rest of the world has already figured this out. I wonder if we will ever get there ourselves.
— Mike Jens
Anchorage
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