At first glance, there was only one health care story in 2020: the devastation inflicted by COVID-19. Claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and destroying millions of jobs, the virus has marked the year with unprecedented pain and chaos.

But there have been a few slim silver linings. 2020 also brought scientific progress. Coronavirus vaccines, developed at record speed, are now available to frontline health workers and soon, the public. Social distancing has accelerated the use of telehealth services. 

In other news, holdout states have slowly expanded their Medicaid programs and the future of the Affordable Care Act again landed before the Supreme Court. For more reflections on 2020, read the roundup of the most significant health care events of the year, by the Fund’s Shanoor Seervai and David Blumenthal, M.D.