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Sorry to say this, but the US is going to be even worse than Italy. You have not been testing nearly enough people.

Additionally, the US health care system is worse, people are not or under-insured (so they have an incentive to avoid seeking care), and leading US politicians are acting like it isn't really happening.

I'm usually pretty libertarian and I think private healthcare can work. But right now it really, really can't. Massive issues are down the road, and not very far down the road (14 days).

And if private healthcare can’t work during a crisis, then what use is it?

A large public system cannot be conjured out of thin air to met each crisis.

We will see the large well funded social medical systems, with their “inefficient” over capacity, over-perform the operating on thin margins private systems.

I’m terrified here in the US.

(FWIW - give me 90% socialized medicine with room on the margins for private clinics, like the vast majority of the 1st world)

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