Puerto Rico, Zika, and effective government

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Read and shiver..

The Zika crisis in Puerto Rico hit a critical mass last week as the the 10,000th case of infection on the island was reported. Nearly 2,000 of those infections occurred in just the previous seven days, and the new total that will likely be released today is expected to be just as grim. And that’s just the people we know about: Since the majority of Zika cases show no outward symptoms, many more Puerto Ricans may have contracted the disease, which has been sexually transmitted in some circumstances in addition to being borne by mosquitoes. Over 1,000 of those infected are pregnant women, who are instantly susceptible to having their babies born with birth defects like microcephaly, where the child has an abnormally large head. And Puerto Rican hospitals have logged at least 30 cases in adults of Guillain–Barré syndrome, which causes temporary paralysis. The U.S. government declared a state of emergency, which frees up special funds to combat the disease. But it’s not expected to be enough: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said last week he expected fully one-quarter of the island’s 3.5 million citizens to contract Zika by the end of the year.

This was predictable and predicted. The public health infrastructure in Puerto Rico has teetered on collapse for months, amid the debt crisis and rampant austerity. Around $200 million in direct cuts to health services went through last year. Medicaid reimbursements are sharply lower on the island than on the mainland, making it difficult for health professionals to survive. And most people with money and skills are leaving, creating a massive talent drain. By one account, a doctor a day has left the island over the past year. And the public, skeptical of a government that ran up debt and created the conditions for austerity, isn’t heeding many of the warnings to cover up and wear insect repellent.

This makes Puerto Rico the last place on earth equipped to handle an outbreak of this kind, and it’s why Congress’ failure to authorize funds to fight the Zika epidemic is so unconscionable. First, Congress shortchanged the Obama administration’s $1.9 billion request, and then House Republicans tried to add ideological riders to their Zika funding bill, including cuts to federal support for Planned Parenthood and even a measure to allow the Confederate flag to fly in national cemeteries.

Consider this: If you add up the cost of pregnancy and care for a child with microcephaly or other defects like incomplete brain development, the lifetime costs, direct and indirect, could equal $4.1 million. That means that 20,000 babies born to Zika-infected pregnant mothers — and with widespread infections, this is a strong possibility — would cost more than the current amount of money Puerto Rico owes to creditors. Medicaid picks up a lot of that, but the lower Medicaid reimbursement rates in Puerto Rico then come into play.

Zika Could Make Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis Look Like Chump Change - Business Insider