![]() ![]() Census Bureau says that 90% of all Americans are covered by some form of health insurance. Financial arrangements were between doctor and patient, and payments were negotiated privately and with a certain amount of flexibility. Years ago, a person visiting his or her doctor would pay for the services provided without the intervention of an insurance company acting as a middleman or co-payer. That’s just one glaring example of how business of medical treatment has changed. The Center for Disease Control partnered with state and local agencies as well as 40,000-plus pharmacies to offer free vaccine shots to everyone in the U.S. The cost for developing and distributing the COVID-19 vaccines was $10 billion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. However, if you were tested at a hospital, it could cost from $20 to $850 for a single test, according to the Health System Tracker for Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation. It took only months to come up with testing procedures and production of a vaccine for COVID-19, but not before it became the third-leading cause of death in the United States in 2020.ĬOVID-19 testing was free nationwide at health centers and select pharmacies, including tests for the uninsured. The COVID-19 pandemic was a model example of how the science and practice of medicine – not to mention the business of paying for treatment – have changed dramatically over the past several decades. New procedures, medications and treatment options have vastly improved the medical profession’s ability to diagnose and cure disease, repair damage due to accident or injury, and test for various ailments and conditions whose early detection and management helps save lives.
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