After COVID-19 is it time for healthcare reform?

Even though it’s hard to see right now, the COVID crisis gives us opportunities for the future. Opportunities to look at who we are and why we follow the paths we do currently. We are conservatives, there might be different types of conservatives reading this article, but we are conservatives overall. There are a few big questions we need to be asking ourselves, that should bring about changes when this is all over. 

As social conservatives we talk about our religious values along with our dedication to the moral issues, as fiscal conservatives we talk about our restraint and self-discipline, and on both sides as Conservatives we talk about our strength to give people the tools to stand on their own and be independent. 

This COVID crisis has proved a few things, however. 

From a moral standpoint we are handling the crisis well by trying to flatten the curve as best as we can. But from a medical standpoint, this crisis could have been handled better. 

Laboratories that could have been used for testing were closed prior to the COVID crisis, in our attempt to balance the budget. 

We made cuts to the medical staff as a whole in order to do the same.  A deal was forced through the budget which angered doctors and the public at large, as these were the men and women who are saving our communities from literally dying.

We didn’t need to be caught flat footed, and we cannot be caught flat footed again. Medical issues can strike at any time, whether it is COVID-19, SARS, the avian flu or whatever Earth tosses our way. This recent crisis has only made the existing holes in our system more obvious. 

When we talk about moral values such as saving life, that needs to apply to all, no matter what the issue, or no matter what their financial background is. We can talk about social programs and how some people ‘ride the system” but the medical field should not be one of those areas. 

We have now seen the consequences when lives are at stake, and when panic sets in. Your response may be that ‘only’ 5 people have died, but had our system been properly funded, it would mean that we could have lowered that number to zero. And of course, imagine those who have other medical issues that are made to steer clear of the hospitals and not get assistance on a day to day regular basis.

It’s time to say that we have a health care system that actually delivers, where people don’t have to wait a month or two or years for surgeries. It’s time to say that we want a properly funded system, and that’s it. Because if the predictions are correct then there will be MORE pandemics after Corona has been dealt with, not less.

Some may say the answer to this is to create a two-tiered system with the private sector involved. The corona crisis has also shown us the biggest hole with that logic. Single tier systems can respond more rapidly to any emergency than those with the private sector. It is easier to utilize resources instead of having to fight over the little resources there are. 

Let’s get ahead of the curve and determine that we will have a public system that is strong enough that we don’t even have to worry about any disease in the future. Because let’s face it, as much as we loathe debt, if we don’t properly finance the medical system, then we’ll find ourselves constantly spending $20 billion just to recover from the fall out of every illness that comes our way.