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
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