Thousands or perhaps even millions of Americans have untreated and undiagnosed medical conditions right now that aren’t being addressed because of our singular focus on mitigating COVID-19. The former chief of neuroradiology at the Stanford University Medical Center wrote a recent op-ed in The Hill warning that “critical health care for millions of Americans is being ignored and people are dying to accommodate ‘potential’ COVID-19 patients and for fear of spreading the disease.” And the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic told The New York Times that they’ve seen a “dramatic decline in people seeking care for heart attacks, strokes, or new cancers.”
Who will calculate the cost of effectively shutting down our medical infrastructure for all but COVID-19 treatment and emergency care? Emergency rooms are open but visits to them are down dramatically across the country because people are afraid. Hospitals are struggling because most can’t survive without the revenue they earn from elective procedures and testing. Oxford Economics forecasts that 1.5 million “non-essential” health care workers will join the millions of other Americans on unemployment lines in April. Some hospitals and medical clinics may never reopen.
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