The United States broke another dangerous anti-record in a coronavirus pandemic.
This is evidenced by the results of a study cited by The New York Times.
According to media reports, between February and May 2020, about 5.4 million Americans lost insurance. This is an unprecedented annual rate provoked by the mass dismissal of employees.
The number of American layoffs without insurance for 3 months was almost 40% higher than during the previous peak during the 2008 crisis. Then 3.9 million adult Americans lost insurance. However, if 12 years ago it was exclusively about the financial crisis, now the situation is complicated by the catastrophic scale of the deadly virus epidemic.
Nearly half – 46% – of the cases of loss of insurance recorded in five states: California, Texas, Florida, New York and North Carolina. In Texas alone, the number of uninsured increased from 4.2 million to almost 4.9 million. That is, 3 out of 10 Texans were left without insurance.
Even the states that expanded the state Medicaid program for medical care for those in need did not escape the problem. In these states, 23% of those laid off were left without insurance.
Earlier, News Front reported that the coronavirus pandemic revealed an important problem of the American health care system – medical services in the country are incredibly expensive luxury.
For example, seventy-year-old Michael Flor of Seattle, who had been ill with a coronavirus, discovered that he owed $ 1.1 million to the hospital. Every day in the intensive care unit cost him more than 9.7 thousand dollars. 409 thousand dollars worth the creation of sterile conditions. Luckily for Flora, he had medical insurance that would cover most of his expenses. People who do not have insurance are deprived of adequate medical care in a pandemic.