The U.S. has been conducting an experiment in single-payer health care for Covid-19 over the past three years. Now that the public health emergency has ended, the programs that were in place for Covid-19 are being phased out. This means that people may need to pay for co-payments or deductibles for Covid tests and antiviral drugs like Paxlovid will be covered depending on the type of insurance plan one has. Covid hospitalizations will now be subject to the same deductibles and co-insurance as any other hospitalization. Confusion regarding how Covid treatments will be covered is expected due to the differences in insurance plans.
While this transition may be bumpy, patients with other diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, have been dealing with confusing and unpredictable costs and insurance policies for years. Proponents of the current system claim that market forces keep costs low, encourage innovation, and limit unnecessary treatments. Detractors argue that the patchwork nature and unpredictable costs of the U.S. health care system cause financial distress and even prevent necessary care during times of crisis. Advocates of a single-payer system, such as Medicare for all, see Covid-19 as a test case for their approach. Depending on one’s opinions about the U.S. health care system, the end of the experiment for single-payer care for Covid-19 could be seen as either positive or negative.
