Who Deserves Health Care in a Global Pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for reflection on universal health coverage. We look at the case of the province of Ontario, Canada, which expanded health care entitlement during the pandemic to people not normally eligible for coverage, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. We use the concept of health-related deservingness to examine why certain groups of people are deemed undeserving and are excluded in ordinary times but included in extraordinary times. We argue that tying health-related deservingness to citizenship or immigration status creates problematic inequities in health care access and outcomes and that entitlement to health care should be based instead on a person’s right to health. A right to health approach could make health care systems truly universal and comprehensive. We recommend that expanded entitlement to care should be sustained, both in Ontario and elsewhere, beyond the COVID-19 crisis.