Coronavirus Highlights The Need For "Medicare For All"

The chart above is from the Kaiser Family Foundation. It comes from a poll they conducted between March 25th and 30th. It shows that about 54% of the population favors a single-payer government run health insurance program (like Medicare-For-All) -- with 33% strongly supporting it and 21% somewhat supporting it.

That's probably not enough support to cause Congress to act -- especially with the Republicans controlling the Senate. But this Coronavirus pandemic could well change that.

Much of the opposition to Medicare-For-All comes from people with work-provided health insurance. About half of Americans (49%) get their health insurance through their work (or their union). And they have been reluctant to change -- afraid that the government insurance wouldn't be as good as what they currently have.

But millions are losing that work-provided insurance, thanks to lay-offs due to the Coronavirus. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that 3.5 million have already lost their insurance, and unemployment continues to grow. Some estimate that as many as 35 million could lose their work-provided insurance, and the number of uninsured Americans could rise to 40 million (or more).

The work-provided insurance turns out to not be as good as thought. When a worker is laid off, the business stops paying, and the insurance is usually too expensive for the worker to keep.

What is needed is insurance that does not depend on work, and doesn't go away if a worker loses a job -- insurance that is always there and can be depended upon (even during a pandemic or other crisis). That would be government insurance, the most commonly type referred to is Medicare-For-All.

We can argue about the exact type of government insurance, and how to pay for it, but this viral pandemic has made it clear that it may be time for it. Decent health insurance is a right, not a privilege reserved for those with lots of money. And that health insurance should not depend on whether you have a job or how much money you have. It should be available for ALL citizens.

Other countries do it. It's time for the United States to consider it.