'Medicare for All' would have prevented 338,000 deaths, saved $105B during pandemic, report finds

A "Medicare-for-All" healthcare system would have saved hundreds of billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published June 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

To determine the effect of incomplete insurance coverage in 2020, the researchers calculated the increased mortality attributable to the loss of employer-sponsored insurance and to background rates of uninsurance combined with the higher COVID-19 mortality due to low insurance coverage.  

Five key takeaways:

1. In 2020 alone, a single-payer universal healthcare system would have saved nearly 212,000 lives from both non-COVID conditions and COVID-19. 
   
   
2. As of March 14, 338,594 COVID-19 deaths are attributable to incomplete insurance coverage.
   
   
3. Across the entire pandemic, the healthcare industry would have saved $105.6 billion in medical expenses associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations.
   
   
4. During a nonpandemic year, the industry would save $438 billion annually under a single-payer system.
   
   
5. When combining expected savings under Medicare for All with savings specific to COVID-19, a single-payer system would have cost $459 billion less in 2020 compared to the current system.