A few questions show how the pandemic has shined a bright light on our unique American exceptionalism:
Why does the U.S. have 28.7% of the world’s coronavirus deaths?
How many Germans have lost their health insurance because of the pandemic?
How many Canadians have lost their health insurance because of the pandemic?
How many South Koreans have lost their health insurance because of the pandemic?
How many Danes have lost their health insurance because of the pandemic?
How many Japanese have lost their health insurance because of the pandemic?
How many Dutch have lost their health insurance because of the pandemic?
This list could go on. But the answer, of course, is zero.
So, how many Americans have lost their health insurance because of the pandemic?
There’s no way to know, but one estimate puts the number at 27 million. Add those to the 28 million who had no insurance before the pandemic, and it’s easy to see why America’s program of tying health insurance to employment is absurd. No other country would put up with such a “system.”
Hopefully, the pandemic will open our eyes to the ways we have ignored public health as a necessary element of a civilized society. American exceptionalism? Indeed.
Roger Terry, Orem