Universal healthcare as pandemic preparedness: The lives and costs that could have been saved during the COVID-19 pandemic

Alison P. Galvani, Alyssa S. Parpia, Abhishek Pandey, Pratha Sah, Kenneth Colón, Gerald Friedman, Travis Campbell, James G. Kahn, Burton H. Singer and Meagan C. Fitzpatrick
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Alison P. Galvani: a Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510;
Alyssa S. Parpia: a Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510;
Abhishek Pandey: a Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510;
Pratha Sah: a Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510;
Kenneth Colón: a Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510;; b Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244;
Gerald Friedman: c Department of Economics, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01002;
Travis Campbell: c Department of Economics, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01002;
James G. Kahn: d Institute for Health Policy Studies, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94118;
Burton H. Singer: e Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610;
Meagan C. Fitzpatrick: a Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510;; f Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022, vol. 119, issue 25, e2200536119

Abstract: The fragmented and inefficient healthcare system in the United States leads to many preventable deaths and unnecessary costs every year. Universal healthcare could have alleviated the mortality caused by a confluence of negative COVID-related factors. Incorporating the demography of the uninsured with age-specific COVID-19 and nonpandemic mortality, we estimated that a single-payer universal healthcare system would have saved 212,000 lives in 2020 alone. We also calculated that US$105.6 billion of medical expenses associated with COVID-19 hospitalization could have been averted by a Medicare for All system.

Keywords: universal healthcare; pandemic preparedness; lives saved; costs saved (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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