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Initial Health Policy Responses to Hurricane Katrina and Possible Next Steps |
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Initial Health Policy Responses to Hurricane Katrina and Possible Next Steps
As New Orleans begins to rebuild, can the city avoid the mistakes of the past, instead creating more effective social support for low-income and minority residents? This essay is from an Urban Institute collection that addresses employment, affordable housing, public schools, young children's needs, health care, arts and culture, and vulnerable populations. All these essays assess the challenges facing New Orleans today and for years to come and recommend tested models for making the city's social infrastructure stronger and more equitable than it was before Katrina. Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the New Orleans health care system. With more than a dozen hospitals damaged and thousands of doctors dislocated, virtually all New Orleanians lost access to their usual health care providers. The devastation of New Orleans' health care system was especially profound for the low-income uninsured, most of whom depend heavily on a handful of providers, especially Charity Hospital, one of the nation's oldest health facilities dedicated to treating the poor and disadvantaged. Although the immediate crisis has subsided, state and national officials, employers, and insurers must confront a wide array of difficult health care challenges in Katrina's aftermath.
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