Health Care and the Economics of Illness

Reading about the initial escalation of the plague I could not help but connect this to the contemporary plight of many without viable health care options. For the masses in the story there were pressures both personal and governmental that suppressed accurate reporting in the death records of the rise and spread of the Plague. This came from the institutional side because those in government positions had a vested interest in either denying the rise of the Plague or claiming it's spread was limited to a particular area or people. Admitting that the Plague was returning would cause economic losses in the nation and potentially destabilize the power of the government by putting people in a panic. Similarly, individuals and families were pressed to hide possible cases in fear that it would cause them to be shut in to their homes, preventing them from making a living. We even see in our protagonist HF once the Plague is confirmed and spreading a reluctance to leave for fear of the loss of his livelihood. The economic implications of the Plague can not be overstated and in some ways this is further highlighted by the way the deaths are presented numerically and in a very organized, almost financial manner.