I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that this pandemic could cause a collapse of the underlying structure of the American healthcare system.

I don't think we're gonna run out of hospital beds or ICU beds (outside NY). But lotsa hospitals could run into financial problems.

There's no way our hospital system can handle a pandemic like this cuz there's no mechanism to shift resources from where there's excess to areas where there isn't enough resources. And the regions with excess capacity come under severe financial constraints.

Certain regions have way more resources they need to handle outbreaks. Other regions don't have the resources to even handle a small outbreak.

If certain areas are inundated with patients who are uninsured, there's not much those hospitals can do.

This is what I'm talking about. Hospitals with razor thin margins and few resources can't handle a shock like this. A lot of rural hospitals could go under. https://twitter.com/HMBroughMD/status/1248729005014028288?s=19