About a week ago, I sent a good friend, who is an internationally recognized cardiologist, copies of three papers I have written for research journals. each dealing with a different aspect of the coronavirus pandemic.
He wrote back, "I have read your three articles with great interest, and to be honest: how is it possible that all those alarming facts are not well known nor accepted by the majority of the population in the USA? I really became a bit depressed by reading those papers, although we have not these problems in The Netherlands, except the rising sea levels. Healthcare is for free, including medication, for everybody. It costs us about € 3,500 per person per year. Retirement is being paid for each month after the day you have become 67 years old (we have paid for it during all our working years). During the Covid-19 crisis, the government has paid 80% of the salary of all the working people, and there has been an enormous financial support for business, like KLM airlines. Of course, we have also our problems, especially the immigrants from Africa ( economic) and from the Middle East ( war), but I feel that we are privileged. Especially as compared with ( especially Afro-American and Hispanic) people in the USA. And it is indeed impossible to understand the still 43% support for Trump.
"I really wish that in your beautiful and wonderful country, with such a rich history, change will come toward more wellbeing and more financial equality. It will need a huge change in consciousness indeed. For everybody, also for politicians."
I wrote back to him saying, Holland has a society whose fundamental priority is fostering wellbeing. Consequently, you have the programs you describe. In the United States, the only social priority is profit and, thus, we have the situation I describe in the papers. And you are correct until we change our values and adopt what the Netherlands already recognizes, we will continue to go downhill as a country. It is tragically sad.
Analysts project that 43 million Americans could lose their insurance when the unemployment rate hits 20%. According to the Department of Labor, the current unemployment rate is 14.7%. Credit: Elvert Barnes/Flickr
Medicare for All advocates on Sunday pointed to the latest study on the looming health insurance crisis already becoming apparent amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to job losses for more than 33 million people in the past two months.
Because health insurance is tied to employment for about half the country—160 million people—as many as 43 million are expected to lose their health insurance due to the pandemic, according to a new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Urban Institute.
Analysts project that 43 million Americans could lose their insurance when the unemployment rate hits 20%. According to the Department of Labor, the current unemployment rate is 14.7%. Some economists estimate that between 19% and 23.6% of Americans are actually out of a job, including those who lost their jobs in the last two weeks and those who have not filed jobless claims.
