Yesterday I wrote on how Education has confirmed its role in our societies due to Covid-19, today I will talk about a more obvious sector: healthcare.

Covid-19 has confronted with the crucial role of health care. In these five articles I take you over five questions we have to ask about health care for the post-Corona world.

1. Must governments invest in Health Care?
2. Is Health a Marketable Good?
3. Does health care reward in the long-term, other than in terms of money?
4. Do we need a globalised health care system, such as the World Health Organisation?
5. Are health care workers heroes?

Must governments invest in Health Care?

They are standing on the balconies, applauding loud into the darkness of the winterish evenings. The American Wave spreads over various countries during Covid-19. While the invisible enemy was fought, the audience applauded for its soldiers. If Covid-19 taught us anything, it was to thank our health care workers and feel the urgency of a dedicated health care system.

 In the upcoming five articles, I’ll post five questions that must be answered in a post-Corona world. Today: must governments invest in national healthcare?

The relief was huge when US’ President Obama finally managed to get Obamacare approved on March 23, 2010. It was a promising battle of Obama’s term, but it would be the first battle of his successor President Trump, who promised to get rid of Obamacare as soon as he would take office. The entire set or rules and laws was stripped, tweaked and merged with other laws, eventually to bring Obama’s battle back to start.

Obamacare was about more than intending to bring an affordable health care system to all North-Americans.

It was a symbolic battle about how far-reaching the government’s involvement could reach in the functioning of a libertarian state.

In the last few months this fight gained even more meaning. In the last months solely, 93,806 thousand Americans lost their lives due Covid-19. Field hospitals emerged even in Central Park in New York City and Tesla’s factory amongst others produced breathing equipment rather than luxury goods.

The US wasn’t the only country that had to outweigh the balance of Covid-19 cases with hospital beds.

Non-Profit

On the wave of increasing capitalism, many countries have seen government investments in hospitals decreasing over the last years. The profits of the health care sector might be extremely low or non-existent all together, hence in a capitalist’s eyes, healthcare is not a sector to invest in.

Yet, in these skinned public health care facilities, pressure on staff and logistics goes up, while services go down. In some countries the waiting lists for certain medical actions are so long that many patients don’t even make it to the date of the surgery. In other cases, the hospitals lack the means for decent treatment, or the staff to execute it.

Public Health Care Facilitator

Not only the US might have to put Obamacare back on the table, other countries will have to discuss again if and how far governments must invest in national health care systems, or at least what could be their role as public health care facilitator.

Unfortunately, there are cases in which the governments falsely claim to provide public health care, while taking public means out of the system and putting them in officials’ pockets. Corruption has caused many deaths in many countries.

In a country in Central America the Minister of Health care saved money on public expenses by replacing the real medication with fake medication a couple of years ago. While she took the money, she took many lives with her. Unfortunately, she never was accused of murder.  Justice never happened. Even more unfortunate: this is not the only case.

Corruption kills.

Meaning to the Meaningless Deaths

Therefore, for the people who unnecessary died because of not having access to affordable, accessible and reliable health care, let’s not let this crisis go to waste. Let’s give meaning to the meaningless deaths by rethinking the need of health care and the role governments play.

If the Great War ended saying ‘No more War’, let’s end Covid-19 saying ‘No more meaningless deaths’.

As an alternative: tomorrow I discuss the role of private health care and the question if health care is a marketable good.

 

This article is part of the series of Hope in Times of Corona. Read

1. how this times of self-isolation should not mean loneliness,
2. how you can contribute to this battle, 
3. how gratitude lights up the dark,  
4. how united we will stand strong
5. on the most util strategy in awake of a crisis 
6. how I got blown of my feet as well, but caught by many caring hands, 
7. how being calm can get us through the storm.
8. about Love in Times of Corona
9. how to discover your own talents 
10. why we need stories to hold on to 
11. how you can be creative and innovative.
12. how to spend your mot valuable assets in times of Corona.
13. how to listen to the sound of silence. 
14. How breate taking Corona really is.
15. discover the other freedoms Corona has shown us, 
16. about the new-born freedom Corona gave us.
17. about another way to exceed your personal bubble.
18. about the position of nature in this entire story
19. about nature bouncing back
20. about the crucial choice between resilience and resistance
21. about the game to play
22. about star gazing in dark times
23. About looking for Meaning
24. about what Easter and Corona have in Common
25. About the Shark and the Turtle
26. About the Irony of Distance
27. Why to Hold on
28. Fake News
29. about The Big Unknown we live at
30. about Feeling Alive
31. about what the Birthday of my nephew learned me about life 
32. About where we should go from here?
33. About the Great War and the Great Pandemic, and we should not forget
34. about history’s most important message, echoed by corona
35. How one country could rule them all
36. About how to prevent the next Green Pandemic 
37. about how we are experiencing a new episode of our history books
38. masks off, how a friend in need is a friend indeed
39. What’s Next. after we flattened the curve?
40. how will our personal story look like in a post-corona world?
41. why we should never let a good crisis go too waste.
42. How Spring can happen in Autumn
43. How to unlock the lockdown
44. Why education matters

Or wait until tomorrow, when I’ll shine another light on yet another positive corner of this dark times.