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While Congress is under mounting pressure to extend telehealth coverage past the coronavirus pandemic, some lawmakers want to make sure the evidence is there to support those moves.

Black and Latino communities throughout the U.S. have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, and health experts say the federal government needs to have a plan to distribute vaccines in these communities.

Four elected representatives of the South Suburbs came together on Friday to pledge their commitment to addressing police violence and the institutional racism it springs from.

The news conference at Unity Bridge in Matteson was convened by Donna Miller, Cook County commissioner for the 6th District, and included Sheila Chalmers-Currin, Matteson village president; Illinois Rep. Debbie Myers-Martin (D-38th); and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-2nd).

As the coronavirus spread across the country, federal and state governments relaxed restrictions during the public health emergency on the use of telehealth, providing additional means for patients to receive health care without risking their safety.

Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., wants the federal government to commission a wide-ranging study on the technology to inform Congress on telehealth's pros, cons and overall effectiveness before the relaxed telehealth policies are rolled back.

The moves by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to relax regulations around telehealth have been lauded by providers and patients around the country. But after the danger from the coronavirus has passed, some fear that the agency will reinstate those regulations, making telehealth less accessible for those who need it.

Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Illinois, introduced a bill yesterday that would mandate a study on the effects of telehealth changes on Medicare and Medicaid during the COVID-19 crisis.

The moves by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to relax regulations around telehealth have been lauded by providers and patients around the country. But after the danger from the coronavirus has passed, some fear that the agency will reinstate those regulations, making telehealth less accessible for those who need it.

Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Illinois, introduced a bill yesterday that would mandate a study on the effects of telehealth changes on Medicare and Medicaid during the COVID-19 crisis.

Congresswoman Robin Kelly recently announced that federal grants totaling more than $11.3 million have been awarded to five community health centers on Chicago's South Side and in the South Suburbs.

Across the country, the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately hit communities of color, specifically affecting black, Native, and Latino Americans at higher rates than whites.

In Mississippi, for example, while black people comprise 37 percent of the population, they make up 52 percent of Covid-19 deaths. And in multiple Southwestern states, the Navajo Nation has seen one of the highest rates of coronavirus cases in the country.