COVID
The pandemic proved over and over again that our health is the No. 1 most important asset we own. But let’s flip all that on its head... Despite all the problems, believe it or not, there was good that came from the pandemic – especially for our No. 1 asset and the system in which we maintain it. The notion of “we are all in this together” rang hollow... It’s a nice message and good to hear. But no one was in it together. The lack of a sophisticated and unified health care system slammed the door on any kind of coordinated national response seen in other developed countries. The pandemic proved over and over again that our health is the No. 1 most important asset we own. This essay explores something I’ve been thinking about for some time... What positives came about from the pandemic that will have lasting beneficial effects for health care into the future? Given all the bad, we need to actively recognize the good, too. In addition to my thoughts on this topic, I also reached out to some very smart friends to get their thoughts. These include Dr. Robert Bollinger, an infectious-disease expert at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Brad Herring, a health care economist and professor at the University of New Hampshire, and Eric Pender, head of data analytics at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. Here are four positive outcomes of the pandemic that should have lasting durability within the U.S. health care system.
KILLING THE GERMS Finally, finally, finally, the notion of
handwashing, covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough, staying home when feeling ill, and wearing a mask on airplanes has been forcefully ingrained in our society. And guess what? It worked. The weak 2020/2021 flu season proves it. Between confinement due to shutdowns and deliberate attention to keeping the germs at bay, the CDC reported one of the lowest flu seasons on record. Many people stayed home. Kids went to school virtually. And there were little bottles of hand sanitizer everywhere. My 13-year-old even chastised me one day for not washing my hands for at least 30 seconds! The chart on the following page illustrates the prevalence of influenza and “influenza- like illness,” or ILI, which is an estimate of flu in the population that is not officially confirmed. (For example, if your wife gets sick and receives a positive flu test, and then you get sick with the same thing the following week but don’t get tested.) The little red triangles illustrate the 2020/2021 flu season as compared with other seasons in the last decade. This behavior change will have some durability. Direct costs related to the flu are estimated at $11.2 billion a year. These include all expenses directly related to physician and hospital costs. But adding in productivity losses, lowered normal spending levels due to
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August 2021
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