Q&A: Protecting physicians against Covid-19

For many physicians on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, protection goes beyond N95 respirator masks and other PPE. A grassroots group of physicians has created the Covid-19 Pandemic Physician Protection Act and is urging members of Congress to consider the measure. Beyond equipment, the act calls for other support for doctors, including financial security for their families if they are infected with or die from Covid-19. I spoke with Nisha Mehta, a physician who set up a Change.org petition to garner support for the act and helped submit the legislation to Congress, to learn more. 

What was the impetus for organizing this petition?
At some point, we started realizing that we can't do our best job on the frontline unless we are protected in some ways. I think a lot of special interest groups got in the last stimulus package, and while they have real needs, it was frustrating to see [that]. I think people forget that physicians are also business owners and have their own private practices that need to stay solvent. 

What are some of the things that you're asking for in the CPPPA? 
We wanted to ensure that our health care workers had adequate PPE, could protect their families and also their patients. We thought it was important if we had malpractice insurance that protected us. If we step up to volunteer on the frontlines, what are the laws that protect us if we are practicing outside our specialty? One of the [other] things we want to establish is protections for the health care workers and their families similar to what 9/11 first responders got in terms of a fund, whether it's health insurance, disability insurance, or life insurance. 

What is the status of CPPPA? 
The text of the act hasn't been publicly released, but it's been submitted to several members of Congress, who seem to be receptive to putting some version of this out.