The public health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic carries both health and economic implications. In addition to widespread illness and high death rates, social distancing policies required to address COVID-19 have led many businesses to cut hours, cease operations, or close altogether. People who work in certain industries, such as restaurant, hospitality, retail, and
Month: April 2020
The nation’s low-wage workers face a particular kind of bind. They tend to work in service industries — such as the restaurant, hospitality and retail sectors – that are especially at risk for loss of income during the COVID-19 pandemic, or in jobs such as health care workers, grocery store workers and delivery drivers, where
The coronavirus outbreak has hit densely populated urban areas of the United States first and hardest. Some health systems have experienced surges of patients, raising concerns that there are not enough hospital beds, staffing, and equipment. The novel coronavirus was slower to spread to rural areas in the U.S., but that appears to be changing,
As the U.S. coronavirus outbreak spreads beyond densely populated metropolitan areas, a new KFF analysis finds that rural areas typically have fewer intensive care hospital resources than their urban counterparts, and populations at greater risk of developing serious illness and complications from COVID-19. While metro and non-metro areas have similar numbers of hospital beds per capita (23.5
With millions expected to be hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. health care system will be tested as it never has been before. In response, Congress has passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which allocates $100 billion in assistance for hospitals and other health care providers. The Trump administration has
As the coronavirus spreads rapidly across the United States, private health insurers and government health programs could potentially be burdened with higher health care costs. However, the extent to which costs grow, and how the burden is distributed across payers, programs, individuals, and geography are still very much unknown. A new issue brief, available in