The Origins of the UK’s National Health Service Show How We Can Win Medicare for All
The United Kingdom emerged from the horrors of World War II and established a national health system. We can do the same thing with the coronavirus crisis and Medicare for All.
A tent with hospital beds is seen in an emergency field hospital to aid in the COVID-19 pandemic in Central Park on March 30, 2020 in New York City. Stephanie Keith / Getty
Against the vicious coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the United States’ health care system is facing a historic test that some have likened to wartime.
A deployable vaccine may take eighteen months to develop, and failure to slow the exponential spread of the virus could leave 60 percent of the world infected and millions dead. Aggravated by highly uneven social distancing practices, COVID-19 hot spots could surface anywhere at any time without any warning.
The best way to deal with this crisis is to have an integrated public health system that covers everyone. Instead, the United States has a fragmented system that organizes its supplies and staffing on the basis of profit while deterring cash-strapped people from getting tested, making the virus harder to contain. Our mostly private hospitals are understaffed, unequipped, and uncoordinated.
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