Covid-19 has of course dominated the media for more than two months, with exhaustive coverage of the pandemic, the shutdown of much ordinary activities, the economic impact, and much more. But an aspect of the pandemic that has not received much first-hand reporting is the situation in some hospitals, particularly in major cities, that have been dealing with a deluge of patients as they also suffer a lack of doctors, nurses and other personnel; a shortage of protective equipment and medical supplies; and a crisis of funding.
To be clear, this is not happening in all hospitals, even in the areas that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. (In fact, the lack of apparent activity at some hospitals led to false claims that the pandemic is a hoax.)
Some of the major reasons that there has been little direct coverage of the problems in many hospitals during the pandemic are medical privacy laws, particularly the “Privacy Rule” adopted under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Overall, HIPPA primarily involves health insurance coverage, including requirements for coverage of pre-existing conditions, standardization of medical savings accounts, and changes to corporate tax provisions regarding employee health coverage. Read more.