The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify two categories of people who are at increased risk for developing severe, life-threatening illness if they contract COVID-19: older adults and people with underlying medical conditions.

As the pandemic continues to sweep through the US population, aided by an inadequate government response best characterized as “giving up,” millions of people who fall into these categories remain in harm’s way. But while their health and even their lives are on the line, older adults have at least one thing going for them: everyone over the age of sixty-five has medical insurance through Medicare. At least this population’s medical worries aren’t compounded by the prospect of sky-high bills due to lack of insurance.

The same can’t be said for non-elderly people with underlying health problems. Because the United States lacks universal public health coverage, large swaths of the population are either uninsured or underinsured. And according to a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, that includes 17 percent of people who fall into the increased-risk category.