The “why should coronavirus treatment be free” question does set you down an interesting spiral. One response is that it’s contagious. But then should treatment for all contagious ailments be free? If you accept that, then another issue arises: should diagnosis be free?

Diagnosis is required to determine the particular ailment. Unless you make that free generally, you are still discouraging people with contagious ailments from treatment by making them gamble on it. But if diagnosis is free, then that’s a lot of copayments gone right there.

And once diagnosis is free, why should actually getting the care prescribed not be free? We don’t want people to not get care that’s been professionally recommended. That skin in the game is useless.