The novel coronavirus has taken a huge toll on the lives of millions of Americans, particularly health care workers and other essential workers. Kaiser Health News reports on how some doctors and nurses are responding to this pandemic. The news is not pretty; it’s easy to imagine a future with robots as healthcare providers.
Many nurses are fighting back against low-wage jobs that put them at risk. Their small hospital salaries are not enough to make the risk of catching COVID-19 worth it. They are leaving these steady hospital jobs for far higher paying jobs that guarantee them the personal protection they need.
And, they are taking jobs that pay thousands of dollars a week to provide care to people in their homes. Working as private pay nurses, they can earn more than $6,000 a week. In some cases, they can earn $10,000 a week. By the hour, their base rate is $95. But, their jobs are not secure and do not come with health insurance.
These traveling nurses will go wherever they are needed. And, their ranks are rising rapidly, now at 50,000. Just two years ago, there were 31,000.
The result is a hospital crisis. And, greater health inequities. The hospitals in poor areas generally can’t afford to attract the nurses they need. Rural hospitals and public hospitals in urban areas are finding themselves understaffed. They don’t have the health care workers they need to provide care to COVID-19 patients.
And, because COVID-19 is surging throughout the country, there are few areas with an extra supply of nurses.
The good news is that finally nurses are commanding fair wages. The bad news is that some of them now command wages that most hospitals and individuals cannot afford.
At the same time, thousands of doctors’ offices have been forced to close. With COVID-19, many primary care doctors saw a sharp drop in their patient volume. With that, came a major loss of revenue. As it is these doctors tend to earn a lot less than specialists, averaging less than $200,000 a year.
Consequently, there are too few primary care doctors. This new wave of closures is only making it more difficult for people to get needed care. It puts many of them with chronic conditions at increased health risk.
Pre-novel coronavirus, we had a shortage of some 15,000 primary care doctors. According to the Health Services Research Administration, about one in four Americans live in an area where there is a a shortage of health care workers.
One survey found that about one in twelve doctors’ offices have closed as a result of the novel coronavirus. That’s about 16,000 offices. The doctors say they do not have the financial means to remain open.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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