Now that the United States is in its second week of quarantine, those who are infected are beginning to rack up some serious medical bills.
The question is, who should be responsible for paying? The US government says it will be paying the tab, but where is that money coming from? Paying for medical care is not cheap and if the federal government is covering the cost, the ability to do so is most likely coming from our taxes.
The ongoing stimulus package is a huge financial relief, but what does that do for medical costs? The average American normally would have to pay for their medical bills if they were to get sick and required hospital care.
This also raises the question of whether universal healthcare could be a simple fix to this problem.
The idea of universal healthcare ensures that every American has medical insurance to be able to cover their medical costs. However, there are both pros and cons to that system. This has been displayed in other countries.
Long wait times for appointments, the inability to go to a walk-in clinic and extremely high deductibles for seemingly small procedures are what makes some Americans skeptical. Ultimately, the cost of all of this will be coming out of Americans’ pockets. Whether through taxes, an increasing amount of debt accumulated from the stimulus package or paying for medical care because of COVID-19.
For now, medical costs will be covered by the federal government, but for how long? What will happen if this gets worse? With a slowing economy, one must wonder how long the economy will be able to sustain itself spending more money the country doesn’t have.
