Mismanagement of COVID-19 and Health Insurance by President Trump:
A Doctor from Pennsylvania Speaks Out
Dr. Robert Wilensky and Dr. James Muller
Voters of Pennsylvania have a major opportunity to select the president best qualified to end the pandemic and increase access to health care during and after COVID-19. As physicians, we believe Joe Biden is better qualified for both tasks.
Americans respect the office of the Presidency and look to its occupant as a role model. Unfortunately, President Trump has consistently modeled poor behavior by ignoring the advice of medical experts on the need for social distancing, the use of masks and avoidance of large gatherings to minimize infection risks. His actions against medical advice led to his infection with COVID-19, and the cluster of infections within the White House. Fortunately, he has recovered, due in part to his immediate access to high quality, free, healthcare. Unfortunately, his poor management increased the intensity of the pandemic. Over 211,00 Pennsylvanians have contracted the virus and 8,892 have died, of which 4,425 deaths were in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties.
The leaders of Germany and Canada heeded the advice of experts and achieved much lower infection rates in their countries. America now has over 100,000 more deaths than would have occurred if the US mortality rate were as low as that of Germany or Canada. A Pennsylvanian has a six-fold higher risk of dying of COVID-19 than does a citizen of Germany.
Patients who survive COVID-19 may experience longer term pulmonary symptoms, neurologic troubles, and job loss, which can lead to termination of health insurance. Since the start of the pandemic, over 2 million unemployment claims have been filed in Pennsylvania. In many cases, these newly unemployed individuals lost their health insurance, and have used insurance provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA, Obamacare). Precisely at a time when many Americans are currently in need of access to healthcare due to COVID-19, job loss or both, President Trump continues his four year effort to dismantle the ACA , a program that has permitted millions to obtain health insurance at a reasonable price and supports work against the pandemic.
President Trump is supporting a lawsuit against the that will be heard one week after the election by the Supreme Court. His latest pick for the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has expressed her opposition to the ACA, so a rejection by the Supreme Court is likely. If the ACA is struck down, approximately 30 million individuals, including many Pennsylvanians, will lose their health insurance. A provision of the ACA prohibits insurers from rejecting individuals with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. Individuals with those pre-existing conditions will find it difficult to obtain health insurance at a reasonable price. And many young adults will no longer be able to obtain coverage on their parents’ insurance plan. These backward steps are occurring as COVID-19 is increasing the number of patients in need of health care and, by virtue of a new COVID-19 infection, increasing the number of individuals with pre-existing conditions.
Vice-President Biden offers an entirely different approach to the pandemic and to health insurance. While President Trump continues to disregard the advice of experts by holding rallies of thousands of unmasked, tightly packed followers, Biden models the wearing of a mask and social distancing at his rallies. And he seeks to expand Obamacare rather than destroy it. Pennsylvanians have the opportunity to change the direction of the state and the nation by selecting new leadership that will apply the full power of medical science to ending the pandemic , and expand coverage for all Americans.
Dr. Robert Wilensky is a practicing cardiologist in Philadelphia, PA, and Dr. James Muller is a practicing cardiologist in Boston, MA who was a co-founder of International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War, the winner of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.
