Head of CMS pushes non-COVID healthcare
CMS Administrator Seema Verma penned an op-ed for CNN urging Americans to revisit their healthcare providers for routine care and “get back to non-COVID healthcare.”
Verma explained how the agency she leads called on healthcare providers to put elective procedures on hold during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. However, due to financial strain, Verma is now urging that healthcare offices reopen.
“For the financial survival of a large portion of our nation's health care system ––and the critical medical care they provide––we must gradually reopen,” she wrote.
The opinion article comes at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has topped 2.1 million and 116,526 deaths, as of June 16, 2020. That’s more than twice the number of cases and deaths as the country with the next highest rate, Brazil.
Verma noted the dangers of children not getting necessary vaccines for other diseases, such as measles or mumps, by not visiting their doctors as scheduled. Those services cannot be replaced by telehealth, which has seen increased in use during the health crisis.
She also noted that CMS has published recommendations for healthcare providers to follow, meeting certain thresholds for reopening. Face masks, physical distancing limitation of visitors and screening of patients and staff members were among the recommendations.
Verma concluded the op-ed by assuring Americans that health providers are taking extra precautions to keep patients and staff safe as they reopen.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."