Post COVID-19: A reconstruction of the global order

All the countries of the global North, classified as highly developed countries, have functional and universally accessible public health system except America.

Universal healthcare

All nations of the G7, comprising France, Britain, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan; close allies of America, have functional and universally accessible basic health care delivery system, while the US health delivery system is excessively privatised and out of reach of a sizable percentage of the population.

American story

In 2018, 8.5 per cent of people, or 27.5 million, did not have health insurance at any point during the year. The uninsured rate and number of uninsured increased from 2017 (7.9 per cent or 25.6 million).

The percentage of people with health insurance coverage for all or part of 2018 was 91.5 per cent, lower than the rate in 2017 (92.1 per cent).

Between 2017 and 2018, the percentage of people with public coverage decreased by 0.4 percentage points, and the percentage of people with private coverage did not statistically change.

In 2018, private health insurance coverage continued to be more prevalent than public coverage, covering 67.3 per cent of the population and 34.4 per cent of the population, respectively.

Of the subtypes of health insurance coverage, employer-based insurance remained the most common, covering 55.1 per cent of the population for all or part of the calendar year.

Between 2017 and 2018, the percentage of people covered by Medicaid decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 17.9 per cent. The rate of Medicare coverage increased by 0.4 percentage points.

The percentage of people with employment-based coverage, direct-purchase coverage, TRICARE, and VA or CHAMPVA health care did not statistically change between 2017 and 2018.

The percentage of uninsured children under the age of 19 increased by 0.6 percentage points between 2017 and 2018, to 5.5 per cent.

Communism allergy

But with such sad facts and figures notwithstanding, Americans have been conscientious to believe that a universal public health delivery system is a communist ideology which must never be entertained in their capitalist society.

Indeed, this belief is what culminated in tearing into shreds, the innovative Obama Care which made Medicare available to previously uninsured 80million Americans.

Cuban example

Joe Biden, the presumptive standard-bearer of the Democratic party for the upcoming November elections, has been branded a communist who is not fit to be president, just because he acknowledged the inroads Cuba has made in the field of health care delivery.

And with the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic, it has come to light that nations with universal basic health delivery system have been able to curb the rampaging destructive power of the disease, than America which currently has attained a rather sad position of having one-third of global infections with highest number of fatalities.

Though America accounts for just 4.5% of the global population and 15% of global trade, it has managed to remain a hegemonic status, often through the military and economic muscle.

Immobilised warships

This status, Unquestionably, has been severely bruised by COVID-19, with several nuclear powered massive aircraft carriers being immobilised by the outbreak of the virus on board.

So strategically, the US military strength in areas like to Gulf, South China Sea and so on, has been extensively downgraded.

New world order

I sincerely believe the world will never be the same, post-Covid-19: ideological battles will continue but the focus will definitely shift from isolationism to cooperation. Hegemonic tendencies will give way to mutual coexistence and respect for one another.

email: justnoff@yahoo.com