Wisconsin hospitals had filed at least 104 lawsuits in small claims court since the state declared a public health emergency March 12. Most now say they are suspending the cases; one hospital has dismissed them after a reporter’s calls.
As states scour the world for masks and other protective medical equipment, the federal government has repeatedly invoked a little-known clause in the Defense Production Act to step to the front of the line for sought-after health supplies.
Demand has exploded for rubbing alcohol and alcohol swabs, which are being deployed in the disinfection fight against the coronavirus. Now, people with diabetes who rely on the products for infection control are left scrambling.
States urgently need millions of tests, and the game changer they’ve been waiting on falls well short of what is needed, according to government documents obtained by KHN.
In Philadelphia, New Orleans and Los Angeles, former safety-net hospitals sit empty in the middle of the city. But reopening a closed hospital, even in the midst of a pandemic when health resources are scarce, is not easy or cheap.
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing changes to the U.S. health system that were previously unthinkable. Yet some fights ― including over the Affordable Care Act and abortion — persist even in this time of national emergency. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Liz Szabo about the latest installment of KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month.”
California is entering the most critical period in its battle against COVID-19, and may need thousands of hospital beds and ventilators to accommodate a surge of critically ill patients. Hospitals are taking extreme measures, such as using 3D printers to make ventilator parts and turning cafeterias into wards.
KHN’s Julie Appleby talks about the behind-the-scenes steps that can add time to the process of testing for the coronavirus.
Molecular diagnostics are at the frontier of science, but insurance and billing questions create a minefield for patients.
Under pressure, the federal government announced it will let surgery centers, hotels and even college dorms serve as hospitals to treat an overflow of patients.