About this episode

Derrick Holder explores the crisis of healthcare deserts in America and the importance of access to care beyond just insurance coverage.

Most healthcare debates focus on insurance. Premiums. Deductibles. Copays. Coverage. But what happens when there isn't a doctor available to see you? What happens when the nearest emergency room is an hour away? What happens when the maternity ward closes, the mental health provider retires, or the local hospital shuts its doors? In this episode of Hold 'em Accountable , Derrick Holder examines the growing crisis of healthcare deserts across America and why access to care may be just as important as the ability to pay for it. Healthcare doesn't usually disappear all at once. It disappears one doctor, one department, one clinic, and one hospital at a time. The result is a growing number of communities where people have insurance but struggle to find actual care. In this episode: • Why hospitals are closing across America • Rural and urban healthcare deserts • Physician and nursing shortages • Maternity care deserts and OB shortages • Mental health provider shortages • Hospital consolidation and corporate healthcare • Why healthcare access is infrastructure • How distance affects patient outcomes • Emergency care, specialist shortages, and wait times • Why your zip code…

People in this episode

Host: Derrick Holder

Topics covered

• healthcare access
• healthcare deserts
• insurance
• hospital closures
• rural healthcare
• mental health
• patient outcomes

Keywords

• healthcare
• insurance
• access
• hospitals
• rural
• mental health
• emergency care
• patient outcomes
• physician shortages
• maternity care

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