What if you’re uninsured in America and get Coronavirus? - US healthcare explained

the coronavirus has tested America's health care system like never before it's left some patients even on their death beds fearing more for the cost of care than for their own lives so what happens if you're uninsured in America where your bills be paid and will America's health care system continue to profit off a pandemic in total my bill was $35,000 patients and going through bankruptcy to pay medical bills what motivates them is making money this is a huge worry but it's something we're

gonna look at and we have been looking at first things first how does the US healthcare system work and why aren't some people covered of the roughly 330 million Americans just over 73 percent have some form of private medical insurance organized through their employer a further 18% are covered by the state funded plans Medicare and Medicaid but that's mostly for those over 65 and some on low-income added under President Obama which leaves about 30 million

people or 9% of the population with no medical insurance at all when you don't have health insurance the cost of going to a doctor can be enormous and you know way above the capacity of any individual to pay 3 healthcare lobbyists to every member of Congress are paid to ensure this status quo is maintained many people say the high cost of insurance is the main reason they lack coverage some simply don't have access to coverage through their job and some people particularly poor people in states that

didn't expand Medicaid as the government-run fund remember just can't get access to financial help in normal times these people struggle with in a global pandemic they become acutely vulnerable and as the economy grinds to a halt and more people lose their jobs more are also losing their access to health coverage through their employer there is a law in the u.s. that means if you present at the emergency room you have a right to be treated whether you're insured or not but the big question for the uninsured is who is

going to pay for it that's the very question being asked by dying patients according to this frontline nurse I've been in critical care for twelve years I'm no stranger to some of the pitfalls of our health care system in the United States however I just have never seen it in such dire circumstances I think it's the last thing something someone should have to worry about when they're so critically ill and requiring such a life-saving measure and take Danny skini she's already battling cancer undergoing chemotherapy and recovering from coronavirus in total my

bill was $35,000 Danny was briefly uninsured while moving states for a new job in that time she contracted Cove in 19 since then she racked up a huge bill after going back and forth from emergency rooms and I see use paying for tests and care how did you feel when having gone through everything you've been through with cancer and then with Co vyd to then have this huge bill land on your doorstep it's devastating it's exhausting it feels like what's the

point of having worked for the last 20 years what was the point of going to school her home state of Massachusetts says her monthly salary exceeds the $1400 limit so she didn't qualify for financial help while undergoing chemotherapy she told us this I'm so furious that corporations are getting bailed out left and right while hospital bills stack up the sick people it doesn't seem right it's exhausting but I'm still alive and that's a lot Massachusetts state authority told us they would look into Danny's case and

would like to help resolve this individual situation doctors say Danny's case though isn't unique and this is happening across America you end up going through bankruptcy it's just it's just a crisis exacerbated I think it's inevitable that are there are many many people who are avoiding going to the hospital or delaying going to the hospital because they are afraid of the inability what's the worst-case scenario here as an ER doctor that must greatly disturb you the worst case scenario is

they stay home and they die and never see them with tens of thousands of Americans already dead from Coe bid 19 the pressure is on the government to flatten curves across states and make sure everyone gets the care they need so is president Trump's administration doing anything to protect the uninsured while he's aware of the concerns even his favorite news channel Fox has been challenging him on it this is a huge worry for people in this country who were in that doughnut hole well you don't have they don't have commercial insurance they don't qualify

for Medicare what do you look at are you committing that I can't commit I have to get approval from it I have a thing called Congress ah yes that thing called Congress it has passed a bipartisan bill to help with testing testing testing this legislation facilitates free coronavirus testing for everyone who needs a test including the uninsured although Danny who you saw earlier told us her coronavirus test cost her nine

hundred and seventy dollars that's likely to have happened because her bill came before the emergency measures kicked in and while President Trump is saying he's looking into this he's actually turned his back on plans to expand coverage to uninsured Americans in this crisis health insurers were getting ready for a White House announcement to expand Obama care which would give newly uninsured Americans who'd lost their job a chance to enroll in health insurance plans the announcement never came Trump has long been opposed to Obamacare

which as we mentioned earlier expanded Medicaid to lots of low-income Americans as well as trying to make health insurance plans from private companies more affordable Obamacare is dead been center for a long time Trump's plan is now to cover coronavirus treatments for the uninsured by paying hospitals for those costs this should alleviate any concern uninsured Americans may have about seeking the coronavirus treatment

but the hospital groups themselves don't know what this will look like and the floors of a complex system are suddenly in razor-sharp focus healthcare industry in the United States is broken and there's not going to be an easy way there's no one system there's no one biller there's no one company that you owe this debt obligation to there's no protections for people like me who are poor and sick and puts you in an impossible position you might be thinking if people are struggling this much without insurance

in the midst of a global pandemic why aren't the costs of insurance simply lowered or written off all together for the hospital said although you know there's been an effort to ship this sick patient sighs you know how they make money at least three of the big insurance companies have said that they will waive some costs for people during this crisis but this man who used to work in the industry says they're still putting profits before patients what motivates them most is making money in my tenure working with the top

executives of these companies I know I can assure you that the main motivation is to meet Wall Street's expectations I can't even reading a conversation at that level with the top executives about the health and well-being of the people who are insured by the company people would hear that and be agog frankly I did it myself for 20 years I can assure you that is exactly what's going on America's biggest inshore United Health Group is one of the companies saying it'll wade costs for some people but

given that in the first three months of 2020 it made five billion dollars it can probably afford two United Health Group says from the outset of the Coe bid 19 pandemic our singular priority has remained clear the health safety and support of the people in communities we serve but let's face it the American health care system has always prioritized those who are able to pay for care but now with a contagious killer virus spreading around the country indiscriminately for health of the poor in society becomes just as

important as the health of the wealthiest some think it's this that will spark change it's a once in a generation moment I've often thought the impetus for the National Health Service in the UK came at the end of World War two if we cut out the money what it is we're generous brings then they've been no reason to put off getting advice and treatment and maybe this can be our moment in this country for people to wake up to realize we've got to do something fun different from what we've done in the past America is of course not unique in the pain this virus is causing its

people health systems in countries across the world have been stretched during this crisis not enough beds not enough tests not enough ventilators not enough protective equipment no vaccine yet while most Europeans are benefitting from a universal health care system often free at the point of use the healthcare debate in America rages on but this time more lives are on the line than ever before [Music]