Let Them Eat Cake!

The country is waking up this morning to the news that President Trump and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19. As the White House scrambles to determine who all has been exposed, and candidate VP Joe Biden gets tested after sharing the stage with Trump during the debate, what we may see in the coming weeks will likely be a spotlight on the disparity of healthcare between the classes in this country!

There are many news outlets out there reporting on Trump's risk factors. He is 74 years old. This means his age alone puts him at high risk for severe symptoms. According to medical information that has been leaked or released, Trump is clinically obese with a BMI over 30, he has high cholesterol, and he has plaque build up in his arteries. These are all factors that can put him at higher risk for severe symptoms. Trump apparently has been noted as "tired" and people at a fundraiser said Trump sounded "hoarse". The world plays the waiting game to see how this will affect Trump, and how will it change his stance on the pandemic! In the meantime, Trump and his wife will isolate, and White House doctors are monitoring both Trump and his wife.

In reading about that last part, my thoughts are not that the President of the United States has tested positive for COVID-19, or what happens if he has severe symptoms and cannot continue as President. The part I zoom in on, in my mind, is the fact that Trump and his wife immediately have 24-hour medical care, and thus will probably come out of this unscathed! When the "common man" gets a positive test result, he or she is told to self-isolate at home, and go to the emergency room if their symptoms get severe. There is no medical monitoring! For many, even if they do start to exhibit advanced symptoms, they will not take themselves to the hospital for fear of high medical bills. If they do, they do not get first-class care! The emergency room is usually a busy place, and thus the person would probably be put in an isolation room and lay there for hours not seeing a single soul. The care they receive will be largely dependant on the health insurance they can afford. Those on Medicaid or Medicare will get care just a step above someone with no insurance.

I was laid off at the start of last month. My health insurance ran out this week. I now find myself sitting here, in a pandemic, with no health insurance! I have asthma, so if I become infected with COVID-19, the virus could kill me! I don't have many options! I have made finding a job my job in past weeks. I spend hours a day going through job boards, putting my application in for anything I can possibly do...even if it is for half of the pay I was making! I'm taking every bit of free training online that I can find. "But COBRA..." With unemployment only being about $500/week, and essential bills to pay, I cannot afford to make COBRA payments for health insurance. Those payments would be more than a week's worth of unemployment benefits. If I get infected with COVID-19, I'm likely in trouble.

With unemployment right now being as high as it is, this is the story for millions of American's right now! Even among those who are still employed, there are too many who do not have insurance, or who do not have adequate insurance to cover a potential hospital stay due to COVID-19.

I see President Trump coming out of this unscathed. This is sad because he will then hit the campaign trail touting how the virus isn't all that bad, and pushing for things to fully go back to normal. It will only energize his base that is against the wearing of masks. They will not see how the difference in healthcare played the biggest role in Trump's recovery! Trump will push to reopen every business to get the economy back on track, and get all kids back into the classroom!

Over 200,000 people have died due to complications from COVID-19. Most of those people didn't have around-the-clock medical care until their most dire moments. Some didn't have any medical care and passed in their homes while trying to fight the virus on their own. It is easy for a person of privilege to become infected, and come out of the other side of this saying, "That wasn't such a big deal...that was just a little cold." It isn't so easy for those of us who cannot afford healthcare or cannot afford adequate healthcare.

President Trump will come out of this with very mild symptoms, and continuing the message that COVID-19 is nothing to be concerned about! He will continue to try to kill the Affordable Care Act, leaving even more people uninsured. It is the modern-day version of saying, "Let them eat cake!" As long as the upper class is fine, he does not care what happens to the people!