PUBLIC HEALTH Standalone ERs could get money during COVID-19 crisis, but the neediest patients are less likely to benefit

Freestanding emergency centers in Texas could soon get federal taxpayer dollars to care for patients during the coronavirus pandemic as part of an effort to bring more medical care to rural, low-income and other underserved communities, The Dallas Morning News has learned.

But most of these residents are unlikely to benefit because few of the facilities are located in their neighborhoods, a News analysis found.

It’s also unclear whether the extra beds are needed, given that Dallas and other major Texas cities have not seen the hospital shortages that medical and government officials initially had feared.