The United States is currently in the midst of one of the most impactful wars it has ever participated in. Not only have we had to deal with a significant amount of losses (Coronavirus being one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.) but the pandemic has also exposed some glaring problems with the system our country runs on. Studies have shown that the United States has suffered from the COVID-19 virus far more than any other developed country on the planet.  This fact has resulted in many U.S. citizens wondering what exactly other countries have over the United States, and the answer has overwhelmingly been our healthcare system.

The United States’ healthcare system has been a greatly debated topic for years. From normal everyday people, to certain presidential candidates, citizens have questioned the reasoning for the U.S. being one of the few countries in the world that doesn’t offer free universal healthcare to all citizens and with the arrival of this outbreak this debate has never been more prevalent in politics. In the wake of the outbreak in the U.S., reports were released of people paying thousands of dollars in medical bills due to contracting the virus. According to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the estimated total cost for COVID-19 treatment can be up to twenty thousand dollars. A medical bill like this reveals a fundamental problem with our healthcare system because the grim reality is that not everyone can afford to pay it.

A system in which people cannot afford to seek care oftentimes leads to a problem becoming worse, causing others to become infected who would not have otherwise. This is in large what is responsible for the United States having the most exponential increase in both cases and deaths involving the COVID-19 outbreak. It is far from a coincidence that countries around the world such as Australia and South Korea, countries that offer free universal healthcare, are not only handling the outbreak very well but are even seeing consistent declines in virus related deaths as time goes on while the United States is drowning in new cases and fatalities every day.

The other glaring problem with having a private healthcare system is that it inherently favors those with more money and resources by design. It’s the reason why celebrities and athletes such as Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert (NBA players for the Utah Jazz) can easily get their hands on COVID-19 tests within hours in a country struggling to supply the necessary amount of tests for hospitals. For a country built on the foundation of freedom and equal opportunity, it is almost ironic that we are one of the only countries to restrict people based on their social classes.

While no country in the world has been able to completely prevent this outbreak, there are countries that have handled it much better than we have and if we can follow in the footsteps of those countries to save lives it must be considered as a legitimate option. Often times, the most tragic moments in history have forced humanity to take a look in the mirror and fix the mistakes it has tolerated for long periods of times. This is a war, and right now the U.S. is losing. It’s now a time where we should seek to learn from the examples demonstrated by other countries and their healthcare systems. This is our opportunity to fix our past grievances and make sure we are never caught in a situation like this again. This fight is not over, but it will not get any better without change, and it is on our shoulders to stand up and call for it.

For more information on the world’s battle against the COVID-19 virus see the links below: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/world/coronavirus-cases-world.html

https://time.com/5815835/anthony-fauci-covid-19-coronavirus-struggling/

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/coronavirus-cases-have-dropped-sharply-south-korea-whats-secret-its-success