Could COVID-19 be a financial boon to health insurers?

Treating serious cases of COVID-19 is expensive. Treatment may require ICU beds, ventilators and lots of specialized staff time. So clearly, COVID-19 is destroying health insurers bottom lines…isn’t it? Not according to a recent article by Kaiser Health News. Because of the quarantine, many individuals are delaying or foregoing elective surgeries. Of course, the costs…

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COVID-19 Links What’s coming with COVID-19? The cost of sending everyone checks. Hotel industry cuts 40% of workers due to COVID-19. Inter Miami promotes social distancing.  NBA player’s mom in coma due to COVID-19 Other links:  What’s in the bailout bill. Decreasing marginal returns to drunk driving stringency? Did Medicaid expansion increase access to opioid…

COVID-19 in context

COVID-19 has caught the headlines, and for good reason. According to the WHO, there have been 109,577 confirmed cases (3993 new on 9 Mar 2020) and 3809 deaths (225 new as of 9 Mar 2020) The stock market has plunged. Sporting events have been halted all over Italy. And the rise of cases has been…