What I'm really curious about is how this will eventually effect private health insurance companies if this continues to drag on or get worse. (I expect both.)
No way they could have sufficient reserves for this kind of extended Black-Swan event. What happens when the private insurance system begins to collapse?
Imagine being in the ICU and the hospital administrator comes in with paper work and tells you you insurance company has filed Chapter 11 and they'll need you to sign for your $300,000 month long hospital stay.
How will the public react when these companies, who have milked them dry for decades, suddenly decide this sector is unprofitable and decide to close up shop and move in to other more profitable fields. You're on your own. Good luck. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
I had something similar happen to me with car insurance years ago. I had car insurance with State Farm here in Texas. After a series of bad hail storms, they sent me a letter saying they just decided to get out of the car insurance business. I had 3 months to find coverage elsewhere. I don't know if that was all of State Farm in Texas or just my agent. It certainly felt like a right FU. Especially since I never filed any hail damage claim.
Don't think that private insurance won't just fold and dump people if they feel there is not enough profit in it to stay and payout. They'll do it in a heartbeat.