Across the nation, primary care practices that were already struggling are closing, victims of the pandemic’s financial fallout. And this is reducing access to health care, especially in rural and other regions already short on doctors.
The volume of virtual medical appointments has exploded during the pandemic as patients and doctors have sought to avoid infection through in-person visits.
COVID-19 infections and quarantines are pulling health professionals off the front lines, exacerbating staffing woes that existed in large, rural states well before the pandemic.
The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium has increased access to coronavirus testing in the Philadelphia region, testing more than 10,000 people. The group’s mobile unit and pop-up testing sites also offer patients an opportunity to connect with African American health care providers.
A 28-year-old Texas doctor tested positive in early July and died in September — one of a dozen young health workers nationwide whose deaths from the coronavirus have been profiled by KHN and The Guardian as part of the “Lost on the Frontline” project.
The president’s doctors have used HIPAA — the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — as a shield to avoid questions about the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis.
The measure caps one of the most contentious health policy debates in recent memory, potentially altering how Californians get their medical care. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto it.