This is part two of our series “What could have been: Covid-19” to discuss how our response to Covid-19 would have differed under Medicare for All.
After becoming infected with Covid-19, Antone was hospitalized 65 miles away from his small Alabama town.
His town’s hospital closed last year – and it’s not the only one. As Covid-19 continues to spread, an increasing number of rural communities in the U.S. find themselves without a local hospital or on the brink of losing an already cash-strapped hospital.1
It’s not an accident. Our current financing model for hospitals is arcane and overwhelmingly benefits large hospitals – such that many small and rural hospitals are forced to close. We know after a rural hospital closes, there’s a spike in death rates by as much as 6% — and that's when there's not a pandemic.
Under Medicare for All, these same hospitals would instead get a lump sum payment to cover all expenses involved in caring for every patient who comes to the hospital for care – a process also known as global budgeting. Global budgets would change the way hospitals are financed to ensure they have adequate resources to care for all of their patients and keep their doors open no matter what – whether or not they are located in a big city or part of a giant conglomerate.
Best of all: we know global budgets work. For decades, countries around the world have used global budgeting to great success. This process allows hospitals to focus on providing care and insulates them from fluctuations in the number of patients seeking care.
We need more people to understand the impact of our broken health care system on Covid-19 and how Medicare for All would provide better and less expensive care to all. That’s exactly the movement building work we’re doing, and we need your help.
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Here is the sample email we’ve written for you to copy or adapt: Hey friends, As you may know, I’m a supporter of Medicare for All, and I wanted to invite you to join an upcoming webinar this month to learn more about the basics of it and get your questions answered. Health care is very confusing as it is, and I know a lot of people have heard of Medicare for All or single-payer, but may not know what it is or how it works. This Medicare for All 101 webinar is geared toward beginners to learn more about our current system and answer their questions about reform. There are 2 different dates and times to choose from this month, and you can RSVP here: https://act.medicare4all.org/signup/mfa-101-webinars/ I hope you can make it and look forward to hearing about what you learn. |
The bottomline is this: because of the way our health care system is financed, we’ve seen an accelerating trend of rural and safety net hospitals closing or being bought up by large corporate hospital chains. This has reduced the quality and availability of care at a time when it is needed the most.
Medicare for All would reverse this trend by providing predictable and equitable funding. It would even help underfunded hospitals modernize and expand facilities, purchase new equipment, and hire new staff to ensure they are meeting the needs of patients in their community.
In order to win, we need to grow our movement and bring more like-minded people into action. You are a key part of that, and inviting your friends and family to join a webinar is a key first step.
Max Cotterill
Organizer
Nurses’ Campaign for Medicare for All
1 - NPR
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