VCC Magazine Summer 2020

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S ummer 2020 5 COVID or Not, Care Needs to Be for All By Delegate Ibraheem S. Samirah We’re now five months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet the U.S. has broken its daily record for new cases reported. The continued economic impacts of the virus have caused tens of millions to lose their jobs and many more may soon be added to that count as states that “reopened” too early go on lockdown once again. When we look at these unemployment numbers, we often forget that in the US, losing your job doesn’t just mean losing your job. For the half of all Americans who get their health insurance through their employer or a family member’s employer, it also means losing your coverage. The New York Times reported this week that at least 5.4 million Americans have lost their coverage during the pandemic. After taking into account the family members of the newly uninsured, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the number grows to 27 million Americans. There’s no question that that includes thousands of Virginians—54 percent of us have employer-sponsored insurance. Some families will qualify for new plans under Medicaid, but some inevitably won’t. Others will struggle to find affordable plans on the individual marketplace despite best efforts by the Affordable Care Act. And for those people, a COVID diagnosis could mean making a choice between getting care or going broke. One health analytics organization estimates that the typical cost for a COVID hospitalization is $23,500, while another estimates that a cost for a six-day stay with complications averages $74,000. One woman in NewYork was charged $400,000 for her days-long battle with the virus that almost took her life. But the problem of cost in healthcare is by no means restricted to those who are uninsured, or those who are diagnosed with COVID; despite the fact that only 1 in 10 Americans lack insurance, last year one in three U.S. families put off major medical care, or skipped it entirely, solely because it was too expensive. This issue is not one that exists anywhere else. When we compare the US to other major countries, we can see that we are spending way more money per person on healthcare than every other country, and yet we still have millions uninsured and underinsured. Average healthcare spending per capita for the average developed nation is $5,280, while for the US that number is $10,224. In fact, the healthcare industry makes up 18 percent of the U.S. GDP. That’s about $3.5 trillion out of our $19.5 trillion dollar economy. So where is all the money going, if not to our care? When we look at administrative costs, we begin to answer that question. Administrative costs are the overhead expenses for a company or provider that are not related to medical care, such as marketing, customer service, billing, claims review, information technology, and most importantly, profits. Private insurance companies run a big overhead; some calculations put the number at 13% while others go as high as 18%. That means anywhere between 13 and 18 cents of every dollar you pay to your private insurance plan is used for something other than actual medical care. Luckily, the problem of administrative costs is not an impossible puzzle to solve. Once again, we can see from other countries that our costs outpace everyone else: administrative costs make up 8.3% of US healthcare spending, compared to 2.7% in Canada, 2% in the UK, and 1.6% in Japan. Just by looking at public plans here in the US, we can see that healthcare without the high cost is possible. In 2018, Medicare’s administrative cost was only 1.1%, meaning only one cent of every dollar paid into Medicare was spent on something other than delivering quality medical care. One reason for the lower administrative cost is that Medicare doesn’t pursue profits and bonuses for executives the way private insurance does. Another reason is that the unified model of public insurance cuts down on red tape and waste compared to a fractured private insurance marketplace. When we are in a crisis as deep as the one we face today, policymakers and political figures can’t keep proposing that we nibble around the edges of the problem. Anyone who says “healthcare is a human right” is falling short of that promise when they promote a system that ties your healthcare to your employment. A system that extracts more and more profits while families lose everything. My colleagues and I in Virginia as well as across the country have a duty to change this, COVID-19 or not. It’s time to stop treating single-payer healthcare as a dirty word, and instead move towards it as quickly as we can to ensure an efficient system and quality healthcare for all, no matter what. Delegate Samirah is a Democrat representing part of Fairfax County and Loudoun. Standing with Those Demanding Justice By Delegate Wendy Gooditis The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our Commonwealth over the past few months. Governor Northam’s administration has implemented a number of measures designed to keep Virginians safe, and we have all had to adapt to a new reality. The Virginia Employment Commission has hired hundreds of new staff members to address the surge of unemployment claims since the start of the crisis. Businesses have had to adopt heightened sanitation and social distancing measures to protect staff and consumers. Now, as the state begins to reopen, local school districts are grappling with back-to-school plans to ensure access to education while keeping students and staff safe. The pandemic has also had a significant effect on our state revenue, though the impact has not been as dire as anticipated, and the General Assembly will convene later this summer to rework the budget. In addition to budgetary concerns, the special session will focus on police reform. Across the Commonwealth, Virginians have called for action in response to the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. I stand with those demanding justice. We must address the systemic racism that persists throughout our institutions including, but not limited to, the criminal justice system. I look forward to working with the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and community leaders to bring about the change we so desperately need. Delegate Gooditis is a Democrat representing part of Clarke, Frederick, and Loudoun. V V D B A V A . C O M DAVID BAILEY 1108 East Main St., Ste 1200 Richmond, VA 23219 804-643-5554 office 804-405-8108 cell dbailey@capitolsquare.com