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Health Care Tag

Last month, I wrote about how the cancellation of "elective" surgeries, cancer screenings, and other important and often life-saving healthcare services is impacting the U.S. healthcare system. The trend has continued downward since then, with more healthcare professionals losing their jobs, their practices, and their livelihoods.  Additionally, the harmful impact on their now-former patients is, at this point, immeasurable.

While the Wuhan coronavirus is a real problem, our often one-size-fits-all response appears to be creating still more problems, particularly in terms of our nation's health care system.  Cancer screenings and surgeries, most diagnostic screenings unrelated to the coronavirus, and many necessary quality of life surgeries have been canceled or postponed indefinitely to keep hospitals free to handle a massive influx of coronavirus patients. An influx that in most parts of the country hasn't happened. The resultant loss of medical professionals' jobs, loss of revenue to hospitals, and potential loss of patient life (or quality of life) are creating a whole new healthcare crisis across the country.

In his Nevada caucus victory speech, Bernie Sanders rattled off -- before an ecstatic crowd of college-age supporters -- a laundry list of promises: Free public higher education, cancellation of all student loan debt, universal free healthcare, universal "affordable" childcare, minimum $60k per year teacher salaries, and a nationwide $15 per hour minimum wage, among other things. And not just for citizens, but for the "undocumented" as well.