> Relative to Other Countries, US Labor and Healthcare Policies are a Perfect Storm for Pandemics > > Zero universal guaranteed paid sick leave > Even among those with paid sick leave, the covered time frame is often on the order of days, not the weeks adequate to account for prolonged illness. > Zero guaranteed paid family leave to care for sick members > Zero guaranteed financial or operational support for people who should self-quarantine. People are therefore ignoring quarantine because they need to eat. > Many people are uninsured. Given where things are right now (cryptic transmission and no available vaccine), the insurance companies have a moral obligation but have no financial incentive to improve testing and ensure access to care. > In the USA insurance is tied to their employment, so when they get sick they are also vulnerable to bankruptcy. In a pandemic year this is devastating for an economy.

> Never has there been a clearer case for single-payer health care as a public good. The voting public in the US need to care as much about “keeping their doctor” as they do about keeping their doctor alive. Doctors worldwide are getting pummeled on the frontlines of this crisis, the lack of protective equipment is causing them to get infected, and themselves unable to get the care they need. For a personal lens on this, have a look here, but this is by no means unique; the accounts are flooding in.