“In New York City, emergency hospital beds are multiplying — inside tents set up in Central Park, on a hospital ship docked on Manhattan’s West Side and in the Javits Convention Center, which now houses about 1,000 beds.”
“To give the rest of the country similar flexibility in addressing the wave of COVID-19 patients expected to need hospital care soon, the federal government is relaxing a lot of what are usually thought of as safety requirements, says Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and a senior member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Hospitals can now operate inside dorms, for example, as well as gyms, schools, and parking lots.”
“Right now, Verma tells All Things Considered Host Mary Louise Kelly, thousands of civil servants at CMS are moving heaven and earth to make it easier for hospitals to care for patients during the coronavirus crisis. The agency has a huge reach — it runs Medicare, with 60 million enrollees, overseeing provider payments and plans. It also works in partnership with states to administer Medicaid, with 74 million enrollees, and oversees many nursing homes, managing inspections and quality ratings of the facilities.”
“On Tuesday, Verma spoke with Kelly about how the Trump administration thinks ‘relaxing safety rules’ and easing licensing restrictions might help patients, and why widespread testing continues to be such a problem…” Read the full interview here.
Source: To Stop The Pandemic, Seema Verma Is ‘Getting Rid Of A Lot Of Regulations’ – By Mary Louise Kelly, March 31, 2020. National Public Radio.
