New York finally has seen the light. The state on Sunday reversed its deadly mandate, issued in March, prohibiting nursing homes from testing incoming residents and requiring them to accept patients from hospitals, even if they were diagnosed with COVID-19. New York now says hospitals can send patients to nursing homes only if they have tested negative for the virus. The March … [Read more...] about Follow the Data…
Focus on the Most Vulnerable
At least half of the deaths from COVID-19 have been among nursing home residents—those most likely to be elderly and to have underlying health conditions. Shouldn’t our first priority be to protect these vulnerable seniors and the workers in these facilities? Apparently not in New York. There has been too little coverage of an order signed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo requiring … [Read more...] about Focus on the Most Vulnerable
Will Private Practice Medicine Survive?
With fire truck parades and flyovers across the country, there have been many deserved tributes to honor the medical heroes who are battling the coronavirus on the front lines. But the doctors behind the scenes also are heroes. They risk exposure every time they see a patient, and most are concerned about the non-COVID patients who are not getting the medical care they need because elective … [Read more...] about Will Private Practice Medicine Survive?
When can we get back to normal?
“Getting back to normal can begin now in some places,” Senior Fellow Doug Badger explain in a new post with Heritage scholar Norbert Michel. “That is because the pandemic has not been evenly spread across the states or even within states.” They challenge Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, who was asked … [Read more...] about When can we get back to normal?
Crucial access to injected and infused medications needed for Medicare patients
The federal government has made huge progress in lowering regulatory barriers in order to accelerate access to health care during the coronavirus crisis, including allowing patients to talk with their doctors by telemedicine visits. But one group of particularly vulnerable patients has been left out: Medicare beneficiaries needing access to infused or injected drugs that generally must be … [Read more...] about Crucial access to injected and infused medications needed for Medicare patients
How to Resolve the Coronavirus Testing Crisis
The administration’s guidelines for “Opening Up America Again” rely heavily on the ability of states to develop a robust COVID-19 testing capacity, and Congress is negotiating adding as much as $25 billion to this week’s funding bill to significantly expand testing. Badger and Turner argue that a dramatic increase in coronavirus testing is needed before people will feel safe … [Read more...] about How to Resolve the Coronavirus Testing Crisis
Smarter Planning for Hospital Surges
Expect calls in the next coronavirus bill for a massive expansion of hospital capacity in the U.S. with the federal government deciding how many beds to add and where to add them, funded by an enormous influx of inflationary federal spending. Doug Badger and Norbert Michel of Heritage have written a new paper that explains with data why this is an unquestionably bad idea. Their paper, … [Read more...] about Smarter Planning for Hospital Surges
Coverage in the Coronavirus Crisis
President Trump and Vice-President Pence were asked at both Wednesday and Thursday’s news conferences about their plan to protect the uninsured from financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Galen Senior Fellow Brian Blase describes in a Forbes column today, How The Uninsured Can Gain Financial Protection From The Virus, three immediate options: 1) … [Read more...] about Coverage in the Coronavirus Crisis