Leah Blomberg and Marco Paolone both called an ambulance when their coronavirus symptoms worsened. Both spent time in intensive care, both were unconscious for days, and both were on a ventilator.
They were lucky — they survived a disease which has so far killed more than 230,000 people around the world. But while Blomberg, an American, walked away with medical bills totaling several thousands of dollars, Paolone’s treatment was free. In his home country of Italy, cost isn’t something coronavirus patients need to worry about.
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The Covid-19 pandemic is exposing the deep divide between how health care is approached in the US and in Europe. In Italy, like on much of the continent, the system is publicly funded and almost entirely free for anyone who needs it. Meanwhile the United States is the only developed nation without universal health care.
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“People do not avoid health care because of cost in Europe,” said Reggie D. Williams II, an international health policy expert at the US-based Commonwealth Fund. “Americans unfortunately face a dual burden of worrying about access to care … and then affordability.”
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Article URL : https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/01/health/health-care-europe-us-medical-bills-coronavirus-intl/index.html