First Edition: Jan. 15, 2021

KHN: When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay The Price 
On Sundays, Bishop Bruce Davis preached love. Through his Pentecostal ministry, he organized youth parades and gave computers, bicycles and food to families in need. During the week, Bruce practiced what he preached, caring for prisoners at a Georgia hospital. On March 27 he began coughing, and on April 1 he was hospitalized. He’d tested positive for covid-19. The virus swept through his household, infecting his wife and daughter and hospitalizing their disabled son. Ten days after landing in the hospital, Bruce died. (Bailey and Cahan, 1/15)

KHN: 5 Reasons To Wear A Mask Even After You’re Vaccinated 
As an emergency physician, Dr. Eugenia South was in the first group of people to receive a covid vaccine. She received her second dose last week  — even before President-elect Joe Biden. Yet South said she’s in no rush to throw away her face mask. “I honestly don’t think I’ll ever go without a mask at work again,” said South, faculty director of the Urban Health Lab at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe doing that.” (Szabo, 1/15)

KHN: Geography Is Destiny: Dentists’ Access To Covid Shots Depends On Where They Live 
Dr. Monte Junker, an Oregon dentist, is waiting for his turn to get vaccinated for covid even though he considers himself a front-line health worker. “If they offered it to me today, I would be there,” he said. In December, just before the first vaccines were cleared for emergency use, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization advisory board recommended that health care workers — as well as nursing home residents and staff members — be the first to be inoculated because of their high risks of infection. (Galewitz, 1/15)

KHN: Journalists Examine How Covid Polarizes Communities 
California Healthline senior correspondent Anna Maria Barry-Jester discussed public health backlash on WABE’s “Did You Wash Your Hands?” on Jan. 5. ... KHN Colorado correspondent Rae Ellen Bichell dissected how covid-19 exacerbates tensions between counties in Colorado on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” on Jan. 9. ... KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner talked about mental health care and the pandemic on WAMU/NPR’s “1A” on Jan. 11. (1/15)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: On Capitol Hill, Actions Have Consequences
The reverberations from the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump continue. A broad array of business groups, including many from the health industry, are halting contributions to Republicans in the House and Senate who voted against certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House who have refused to wear masks or insisted on carrying weapons are being subjected to greater enforcement, including significant fines. (1/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden Proposes $1.9 Trillion Covid-19 Relief Package
President-elect Joe Biden is calling for a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan to help Americans weather the economic shock of the pandemic and pump more money into testing and vaccine distribution. Mr. Biden in a speech Thursday evening described his priorities related to the pandemic for the early days of his administration, pressing the often-divided Congress for urgent, unified action. His plan calls for a round of $1,400-per-person direct payments to most households, a $400-a-week unemployment insurance supplement through September, expanded paid leave and increases in the child tax credit. Aid for households makes up about half of the plan’s cost, with much of the rest going to vaccine distribution and state and local governments. (Rubin and Collins, 1/14)

The Washington Post: Biden Unveils Emergency Coronavirus And Stimulus Plan, With Major Focus On Vaccines 
Biden’s proposal is divided into three major areas: $400 billion for provisions to fight the coronavirus with more vaccines and testing, while reopening schools; more than $1 trillion in direct relief to families, including through stimulus payments and increased unemployment insurance benefits; and $440 billion for aid to communities and businesses, including $350 billion in emergency funding to state, local and tribal governments. (Werner and Stein, 1/14)

AP: Biden Unveils $1.9T Plan To Stem COVID-19 And Steady Economy
Called the “American Rescue Plan,” the legislative proposal would meet Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration, and advance his objective of reopening most schools by the spring. On a parallel track, it delivers another round of aid to stabilize the economy while the public health effort seeks the upper hand on the pandemic. “We not only have an economic imperative to act now — I believe we have a moral obligation,” Biden said in a nationwide address Thursday. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Barrow, 1/15)

The New York Times: Biden Outlines $1.9 Trillion Spending Package To Combat Virus And Downturn 
The package includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly, including money to accelerate vaccine deployment and to safely reopen most schools within 100 days. Another $350 billion would help state and local governments bridge budget shortfalls, while the plan would also include $1,400 direct payments to individuals, more generous unemployment benefits, federally mandated paid leave for workers and large subsidies for child care costs. “During this pandemic, millions of Americans, through no fault of their own, have lost the dignity and respect that comes with a job and a paycheck,” Mr. Biden said in a speech to the nation. “There is real pain overwhelming the real economy.” (Tankersley and Crowley, 1/14)

The New York Times: What’s In Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan 
That $1.9 trillion figure is a lot of money, to put it mildly. Congress passed a $900 billion relief program in December, and its package in March was also about $2 trillion. By way of comparison, the major financial crisis spending package — the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — clocked in around $800 billion. (Smialek, 1/14)

Reuters: Biden To Unveil Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution Plan As Cases Soar 
President-elect Joe Biden will on Friday outline his plan to ramp up vaccinations against COVID-19 as he prepares to take office amid soaring infection rates and an early rollout by the Trump administration he called “a dismal failure.” Biden has promised to take more serious action to curb the virus than his predecessor, President Donald Trump, and get 100 million vaccine shots into the arms of Americans during his first 100 days in office. (Hunnicutt, 1/15)

CNN: States Skeptical Of Biden's Covid-19 Vaccine Plan As They Await The Missing Details 
State officials are skeptical that President-elect Joe Biden can meet his goal of 100 million coronavirus shots in his first 100 days, with a week to go before his start date and a slew of unanswered questions still swirling around his plan. Multiple state officials and sources familiar with the Biden transition team's outreach told CNN in recent interviews that they are unclear on major details of the Biden team's plans -- including those for mass vaccination sites, vaccine supply issues and funding for local governments. (Lee, Murray and Holmes, 1/14)

The Hill: Business Groups Applaud Biden's COVID-19 Relief Plan 
President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan to provide economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic was largely welcomed by the business community that has been a loud advocate for further relief. Biden’s plan, which he announced Thursday, includes $415 billion focused on fighting COVID-19, upwards of $1 trillion on direct aid to individuals and families and another $440 billion in aid to businesses. (Gangitano, 1/14)

The New York Times: Biden Picks Former F.D.A. Chief To Lead Federal Vaccine Efforts 
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has chosen Dr. David Kessler to help lead Operation Warp Speed, the program to accelerate development of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, according to transition officials. Dr. Kessler, a pediatrician and lawyer who headed the Food and Drug Administration during the presidencies of George Bush and Bill Clinton, has been a key adviser to Mr. Biden on Covid-19 policy and is co-chair of the transition team’s Covid-19 task force. (Kaplan, 1/15)

Politico: Trump Wants Billions Cut From Global Covid Vaccine Distributor 
President Donald Trump has sent lawmakers a sweeping package of spending cuts to consider before he leaves office, including billions in funding for a global health and vaccine distribution program involved in the Covid fight, according to the package obtained by POLITICO. The $27.4 billion in proposed cuts is known as a rescission request — a largely symbolic package of spending claw-backs that the White House presents to Congress. There is no chance that Congress actually acts on the request. But the inclusion of $4 billion in funding for GAVI, a public-private partnership promoting vaccination in low-income countries, will likely fuel more criticism of the president’s approach to global health efforts in general and the Covid pandemic in particular. (Emma, Lippman and McGraw, 1/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Newly Reported U.S. Covid-19 Cases Top 200,000 For Ninth Straight Day 
Newly reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. remained above 200,000 for the ninth day in a row, while hospitals continued to see large numbers of Covid-19 patients. The U.S. reported more than 224,000 new coronavirus cases for Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The nation’s death toll grew by more than 3,800 Wednesday, lower than the record of more than 4,000 fatalities the previous day, but still higher than daily levels recorded last year. Overall, the U.S. Covid-19 death toll exceeded 387,000. (Hall, 1/14)

The Hill: Post-Holiday COVID-19 Surge Hits New Deadly Records 
Even as Washington's attention is focused on President Trump’s second impeachment, the coronavirus pandemic is setting a string of new records as it gets increasingly worse in the U.S. The anticipated surge following holiday gatherings has now arrived, leading to a stunning number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising every day. (Sullivan, 1/14)

The Wall Street Journal: The Covid-19 Death Toll Is Even Worse Than It Looks 
The recorded death count from the Covid-19 pandemic as of Thursday is nearing 2 million. The true extent is far worse. More than 2.8 million people have lost their lives due to the pandemic, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from 59 countries and jurisdictions. This tally offers the most comprehensive view yet of the pandemic’s global impact. Deaths in these places last year surged more than 12% above average levels. Less than two-thirds of that surge has been attributed directly to Covid-19. Public-health experts believe that many, if not most, of the additional deaths were directly linked to the disease, particularly early in the pandemic when testing was sparse. Some of those excess deaths came from indirect fallout, from health-care disruptions, people avoiding the hospital and other issues. (Overberg, Kamp and Michaels, 1/14)

The Atlantic: COVID-19 Deaths Are 25 Percent Higher Than In Any Other Week
For 16 weeks, throughout the fall and then straight through the data disruptions around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, the number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 has risen. On October 13, there were 36,000 people with COVID-19 in U.S. hospitals. Yesterday, on January 13, there were 130,000. This week, after two weeks of holiday-muddled death data, the inevitable consequence of these rising hospitalizations arrived. States reported 23,259 COVID-19 deaths this week, 25 percent more than in any other week since the pandemic began. For scale, the COVID-19 deaths reported this week exceed the CDC's current estimate for flu-related deaths during the entire 2019–20 season. (1/14)

Bloomberg: World Edges Close To 2 Million Covid-19 Deaths, Led By U.S.
Led by the U.S., the world is about to hit a frightening Covid-19 benchmark, with 2 million people dead and few expectations for the numbers to start dropping any time soon. “You want to get to the point first where the virus can’t outrace you,” said Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health and co-director of the Global Health Justice Partnership. “It’s very hard to project out in any fine level of resolution how many people will be dead from this, in even 6 months to a year.” (Fay Cortez, 1/15)

Stat: In Los Angeles, Ambulances Circle For Hours And ICUs Are Full 
The situation here is dire. Every minute, 10 people test positive for Covid-19. Every eight minutes, someone dies. Ambulances circle for hours, unable to find ERs that can accept patients. Hospitals are running out of oxygen. ICU capacity is at zero. Patients lie in hallways and tents. Emergency room nurses have more patients than they can handle — sometimes six at a time. (McFarling, 1/15)

The Hill: Health Officials Estimate One In Three LA County Residents Have Been Infected By Coronavirus 
Los Angeles County scientists now estimate that 1 in 3 residents have contracted COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday. That would mean at least 3 million of the county's 10 million residents have been infected — more than triple the number confirmed through testing, according to the Times. (Polus, 1/14)

CNN: Coronavirus Pandemic Will Knock More Than A Year Off Average US Life Expectancy, Study Finds 
The coronavirus pandemic is not only having an immediate impact in terms of the deaths of thousands of Americans, it's also taking more than a year off the average US life expectancy. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences projects that Covid-19 will reduce US life expectancy in 2020 by 1.13 years, with a disproportionate number of deaths occurring among Black and Latino populations. (Kallingal, 1/15)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Is First State To Administer 1 Million COVID-19 Vaccines
Texas is the first state to administer more than 1 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday. So far, the state has handed out just over a million doses to a total of 890,000 Texans. About 130,000 of those individuals have received both of the shots required to become fully immunized, according to the Department of State Health Services’ vaccine dashboard. “This is the biggest vaccination effort we have ever undertaken, and it would not be possible without the dedication and tireless efforts of our health care workers,” Abbott said in a release. “We still have a long road ahead of us, but Texans continue to prove that we are up to this challenge.” (Harris, 1/14)

AP: Expanded Vaccine Rollout In US Spawns A New Set Of Problems
The rapid expansion of COVID-19 vaccinations to senior citizens across the U.S. has led to bottlenecks, system crashes and hard feelings in many states because of overwhelming demand for the shots. Mississippi’s Health Department stopped taking new appointments the same day it began accepting them because of a “monumental surge” in requests. People had to wait hours to book vaccinations through a state website or a toll-free number Tuesday and Wednesday, and many were booted off the site because of technical problems and had to start over. (Har, Peltz and Breed, 1/15)

AP: In Coronavirus Vaccine Drive, Deep South Falls Behind
The coronavirus vaccines have been rolled out unevenly across the U.S., but four states in the Deep South have had particularly dismal inoculation rates that have alarmed health experts and frustrated residents. In Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, less than 2% of the population had received its first dose of a vaccine at the start of the week, according to data from the states and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As in other parts of the country, states in the South face a number of challenges: limited vaccine supplies, health care workers who refuse to get inoculated and bureaucratic systems that are not equipped to schedule the huge number of appointments being sought. (Thanawala, 1/15)

The New York Times: As California Eases Vaccine Rules, Many Complain Of Chaos 
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement on Wednesday seemed sweeping: California would open up eligibility for a coronavirus vaccine to anyone 65 or older, effectively abandoning a rollout plan that was meant to ensure that the most vulnerable would be first in line. A day later, residents of the vast and varied state were trying to navigate what many described as vaccination chaos. (1/15)

Stat: Vaccine Registration Technology Is Failing. Here's How To Fix It
The crashes of online vaccine scheduling systems have become a sad symbol of how technology has hampered the nation’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign, leaving people unable to sign up or find out when and where they can get their shots. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The technology and expertise to schedule people and line them up according to priority levels is widely available, health data experts said. (Ross, 1/14)

The Hill: Hotels Offer Properties As Vaccine Administration Sites To Biden Team 
The leading hotel trade group is offering properties to President-elect Joe Biden's transition team for use as COVID-19 vaccine administration sites across the country. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) said in a Thursday letter to Biden’s incoming coronavirus coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, that its members are uniquely positioned to help with vaccine rollout during the next phases of distribution. (Gangitano, 1/14)

The Hill: Hospital Offering Employees Money In Exchange For Getting COVID-19 Vaccine 
One of Houston's largest hospitals is offering a $500 bonus to employees who receive a vaccine for COVID-19. The reporting of the bonus comes as health systems around the country have reported difficulties convincing health care workers to get vaccinated before their patients. (Bowden, 1/14)

AP: Instacart, Others Push Incentives To Get Workers Vaccinated
As vaccinations continue across the U.S., some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their workers to get the shots. Instacart Inc., the grocery delivery service, announced Thursday that it would provide a $25 stipend for workers who get the COVID-19 vaccine. It joins others, including Trader Joe’s and Dollar General, which plan to pay workers extra if they get vaccinated. (Olson and Durbin, 1/15)

AP: False Availability Claim Spurs Rush To NYC Vaccine Site
New Yorkers lined the sidewalks and cars jammed the streets near a Brooklyn coronavirus vaccine site Thursday after false rumors spread of extra doses available to the general public. Messages spread online claimed several hundred doses had to be given out by Thursday evening and that any adult was welcome, whether they had an appointment or not. (1/15)

The Washington Post: Companies Scramble To Expand Coronavirus Vaccine Supply 
Production of the two coronavirus vaccines authorized in the United States is accelerating, even as companies with experimental vaccines nearing the end of trials struggle to meet ambitious manufacturing targets. That means the United States should have 200 million doses each from the companies with authorized shots, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna — enough to guarantee that more than 70 percent of adults will be able to get the two-shot vaccination by the end of July. That is comparable to the share of adults some polls suggest will be willing to roll up their sleeves. (Johnson, 1/14)

The New York Times: Some Medical Students Wait In Line For Covid Vaccine, While Others Share Selfies Of Shots 
In early January, Nali Gillespie watched her social media feeds fill with vaccine selfies: Photo after photo of her peers at other medical schools around the country posed proudly next to a syringe with their dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. But Ms. Gillespie — who is in her third year at Duke University School of Medicine and is focused on research rather than clinical training — knew she wouldn’t be able to join them yet. (Goldberg, 1/14)

The Hill: Gottlieb: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Looks Like Promising 'Third Entrant' 
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that the new single-dose coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson “looks like a good profile for a vaccine.” "All in all this looks like a good profile for a vaccine," Gottlieb said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday after early data showed promising results for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. “It's an indication we are probably going to have a third entrant here." (Lonas, 1/14)

The Hill: Tech Coalition Working To Create Digital COVID-19 Vaccination Passport 
A coalition of health and technology organizations are working to develop a digital COVID-19 vaccination passport to allow businesses, airlines and countries to check if people have received the vaccine. The Vaccination Credential Initiative, announced on Thursday, is formulating technology to confirm vaccinations in the likelihood that some governments will mandate people provide proof of their shots in order to enter the nation. (Coleman, 1/14)

CIDRAP: Men More Vulnerable To COVID-19 Complications, Death Than Women
Men are more likely to test positive for COVID-19, have complications, and die from their infections than females—regardless of age, according to a study published yesterday in PLOS One. The study, led by researchers at Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas, used electronic medical record data from a large healthcare provider to analyze the link between sex and COVID-19 in 14,992 adults from Mar 2 to Aug 22, 2020. (1/14)

Fox News: Coronavirus Treatment With Umbilical Cord-Derived Stem Cells Shows Promise, Experts Call For Large Trials
After a small study suggested stem cells from umbilical cords offered coronavirus patients a safe treatment, boosting survival rates and fast-tracking recovery, outside experts are echoing calls for large, multicenter clinical trials to conclude efficacy. The anti-inflammatory effects from so-called mesenchymal stem cells have sparked interest among some scientists in the search for additional treatments against the novel virus, especially as the country continues to set record-highs in daily deaths, and more contagious variant strains pose a threat to already burdened health systems. Researchers from the University of Miami published early findings in the Stem Cells Translational Medicine journal last week. In a double-blind randomized trial, half of 24 coronavirus patients suffering from lung damage received two stem cell infusions, with 100 million cells each, several days apart, while the other 12 patients had two infusions of placebo. (Rivas, 1/14)

Boston Globe: Researchers Test Common Drugs In Quest For Treatments For Early COVID-19
Little-noticed groups of medical researchers are racing to find treatments for COVID-19 in its early stages, hoping to keep infected people out of the hospital with everyday remedies like antidepressants or vitamins. Instead of seeking new drugs, the researchers are pulling common generics off pharmacy shelves, and even eyeing the nutritional-supplement aisles, in search of agents with proven safety and, perhaps, hidden superpowers. And they’re pioneering a new approach to medical research — mail-order clinical trials, in which patients can take the medication and monitor its effects without leaving home. (Freyer, 1/14)

USA Today: US Officials Urge Americans To Ask Their Doctors About Monoclonal Antibodies For COVID. But Is It Too Little, Too Late?
Federal officials say monoclonal antibodies are in full supply, but patients and providers are not taking advantage of them to treat COVID-19. In a briefing Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services and Operation Warp Speed urged Americans to ask their doctors about the treatment to prevent severe illness and help ease the crushing burden of the pandemic on hospitals. “We now have all the tools we need to both prevent and fight back against COVID-19,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams. “But tools that never leave the toolbox don’t get the work done.” (Rodriguez, 1/14)

CIDRAP: Vision Problems Arise In Young School Kids In COVID-19 Quarantine 
The prevalence of near-sightedness, or myopia, increased 1.4 to 3 times in Chinese children aged 6 to 8 years during COVID-19 quarantine, according to a study today in JAMA Ophthalmology. (Van Beusekom, 1/14)

Politico: Trump Admin Races To Enact Term Limits For Top Health Scientists 
The Trump administration is rushing to enact term limits for top federal health scientists that could increase political pressure on some of the most prominent critics of the president’s pandemic response — even after Trump leaves office, say three current senior health officials. The regulation, which the Department of Health and Human Services could issue as a direct final rule within days, would mandate job reviews every five years for career federal scientists who serve as center directors at the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies. The reviews could lead to renewal — or reassignment. (Lim and Owermohle, 1/14)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Is Driving These Nurses To Quit 
After five years, Kami Cayce worked her last shift as a nurse in September. For the 27-year-old Texan, the decision to leave seemed inevitable after a tumultuous year turned upside down by the coronavirus. After initial stay-at-home orders, Cayce’s workplace, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, resumed non-emergency and elective surgeries at rates even higher than before covid-19. Cayce says her workload increased dramatically while concerns about coronavirus were still top of mind. “Nurses were forced to work above capacity while understaffed. Because of the increased volume of surgeries, patients would sometimes wait for a room for up to 10 hours after surgery,” said Cayce, a post-operation recovery nurse. (Youn, 1/14)

KQED: Exhausted Health Care Workers Feel Betrayed By Those Who Ignore COVID Rules
The crush of COVID-19 patients from post-holiday surges continues to overwhelm California hospitals. The state passed a grim milestone this week, with more than 31,000 people dead from the virus. The state recorded an average of more than 500 deaths over the past seven days. In the Bay Area, Santa Clara County has run out of morgue space, and three 65-foot trailers have been brought in to house the deceased; the county may soon activate a “mass fatality plan.” Besides patients and their families, no one is feeling the pain of this catastrophe more than health care workers. The onslaught has exhausted them, but many also use the word "betrayed" to describe their feelings toward the public, and they have grown angry at people for skirting safety rules because they know much of the suffering is avoidable. (McClurg, 1/14)

Politico: Harold Bornstein, Trump’s Eccentric Ex-Doctor, Dies 
Harold Bornstein, President Donald Trump’s former personal physician, has died. He was 73.News of Bornstein’s death first surfaced last Thursday, after a paid notice was published in The New York Times. The Times notice did not state a cause or place of death, and Bornstein’s office did not immediately return a request for comment from POLITICO. The shaggy-haired, bespectacled gastroenterologist first came to public prominence in 2015, when he authored a note for the Trump campaign memorably predicting his patient “will be the healthiest individual elected to the presidency.” (Forgey, 1/14)

Stat: Trump Administration To Let Nearly All Doctors Prescribe Buprenorphine
The Trump administration announced a major shift in addiction medicine policy Thursday, giving doctors dramatically more flexibility to prescribe a popular and effective drug used to treat opioid use disorder. The change will allow almost all physicians to prescribe the addiction drug buprenorphine, regardless of whether they’ve obtained a government waiver. (Facher, 1/14)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Finalizes Rule To Revamp ACA Exchanges
CMS on Thursday significantly changed how Affordable Care Act exchanges will run, including allowing states to waive some requirements and to use web-based brokers to sell insurance by 2023, moves that insurers and other industry groups have said would essentially privatize the exchanges. In its annual benefit and payment parameters rule, the agency said states will be able to use Section 1332 waivers to individualize their exchanges and eliminate some statutory requirements. States will be allowed to add web-based brokers as the primary way that residents enroll in individual market plans. The agency put the onus on states to ensure those brokers and insurers meet any eligibility requirements. (1/14)

Modern Healthcare: MedPAC Votes To Boost Hospital Payments, Freeze Or Cut Other Providers
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Thursday voted to recommend that Congress increase Medicare payments to acute-care and long-term care hospitals by 2% and keep physician payments the same for 2022. The panel will also recommend eliminating scheduled updates to Medicare base payment rates for ambulatory surgical centers, outpatient dialysis centers, hospices and skilled nursing facilities. MedPAC plans to recommend Congress lower Medicare payments for home health agencies and inpatient rehabilitation facilities by 5%. (Brady, 1/14)

Stat: Medicare Part D Spent Twice What The VA Paid For The Same Drugs
Medicare Part D spent more than twice as much on hundreds of prescription drugs than the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2017, largely because the agency representing military veterans was able to negotiate prices directly with drug makers, according to a new report. (Silverman, 1/14)

Modern Healthcare: AHA Freezes Political Contributions To Lawmakers Who Objected To Electoral College Results
The American Hospital Association is the latest healthcare organization to publicly announce it will suspend all political contributions to lawmakers who voted to object to the election results last week. In a statement Thursday, the AHA said it will "immediately suspend" contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to electoral college results. AHA's decision follows that of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which made a similar announcement earlier this week. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has also followed the lead of the Blues association. Other healthcare organizations are responding to last week's events by reviewing their policies for political contributions or pausing them entirely. (Castellucci, 1/14)

Stat: Former Merck Employee Arrested For Stealing Trade Secrets On Cancer Research 
A former Merck (MRK) cancer researcher was arrested and charged with stealing a raft of trade secrets just before taking a job with a competitor, according to the Department of Justice. In a criminal complaint filed in a federal court in New Jersey, officials allege that Shafat Quadri, who was employed as a director of medical and scientific affairs for immuno-oncology, allegedly copied and removed thousands of files containing proprietary information on various projects researching treatment for different cancers. (Silverman, 1/14)

The Hill: Report Faults 'Broken' System For Insulin Price Spikes 
Insulin prices have soared in recent years due to a “broken” system that rewards companies for raising costs on a drug that hasn’t been significantly improved in its 100-year existence, congressional investigators said Thursday. A scathing report from the offices of Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, found that in the convoluted drug pricing system, competition, rather than lowering costs, often drives price increases. (Hellmann, 1/14)

Stat: Aurinia In 'Show-Me Phase' As FDA Nears Approval Decision On Its Drug
Next week, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve a new medicine from Aurinia Pharmaceuticals that will be used to treat patients with lupus nephritis, a serious autoimmune kidney disease. If the decision goes Aurinia’s way, the oral drug called voclosporin will be the first commercial product developed successfully by the drug maker, founded in 1993 and based in Victoria, British Columbia, in Canada. (Feuerstein, 1/15)

AP: Google Muscles Up With Fitbit Deal Amid Antitrust Concerns
Google has completed its $2.1 billion acquisition of fitness-gadget maker Fitbit, a deal that could help the internet company grow even stronger while U.S. government regulators pursue an antitrust case aimed at undermining its power. Thursday’s completion of the acquisition comes 14 months after Google announced a deal that immediately raised alarms. Google makes most of its money by selling ads based on information it collects about its billions of users’ interests and whereabouts. Privacy watchdogs feared it might exploit Fitbit to peer even deeper into people’s lives. (Liedtke, 1/14)

Stat: Two Ways Fitbit Could Boost Google's Health Ambitions
Google’s newly-finalized purchase of Fitbit is poised to provide the tech giant with a potentially lucrative toehold into two competitive markets: clinical trials and employer benefits. The $2.1 billion buy-out could give Google an edge in the race to court employers and health plans as companies seek to boost staff benefits amid the pandemic, industry observers told STAT. (Brodwin and Aguilar, 1/15)

Fox News: Workaholics At A Greater Risk Of Depression, Study Finds
If you are a workaholic, depression or a lack of sleep, could be in the offing according to a new study. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health reports that workaholics -- described as people with "a compulsion or an uncontrollable need to work incessantly" -- are twice as likely to be depressed and have poorer sleep quality than normal employees. The international group of researchers examined the work habits of 187 French workers and found that people in jobs with strong demands were five times more likely to be prone to work addiction. (Best, 1/14)

The New York Times: U.S. Figure Skating To Pay $1.45 Million To Ex-Skater Who Says He Was Abused 
U.S. Figure Skating has reached a $1.45 million settlement with a former skater who had accused the organization of failing to protect him from sexual abuse by Richard Callaghan, a once-prominent coach of Olympians. The former skater, Adam Schmidt, had filed a lawsuit in San Diego in 2019 that said that Mr. Callaghan had repeatedly abused him from 1999 to 2001, beginning when Mr. Schmidt was 14 years old. (Levenson, 1/14)

The New York Times: Nine Michigan Leaders Face Charges in Water Crisis that Roiled Flint
After a criminal investigation that stretched close to two years, prosecutors in Michigan on Thursday announced 41 counts — 34 felonies and seven misdemeanors — against nine officials who once worked in the highest echelons of state government. Along with the former governor were his trusted advisers, top medical officials and two emergency managers who had been tasked with guiding Flint out of financial distress. (Gray and Bosman, 1/14)

AP: List Of Officials Charged In Flint Water Crisis, Allegations
Here are the former Michigan, state-appointed and local officials charged in the Flint water crisis, titles at the time, and charges, allegations and maximum penalties they face if convicted, including: Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon: Nine felony counts of involuntary manslaughter. (1/14)

AP: Disneyland Ends Annual Passes 10 Months After Virus Closure
Disneyland is ending its annual pass program 10 months after the theme park shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, the theme park said Thursday. The park in Anaheim, California, said it would begin issuing pro-rated refunds to eligible passholders. (1/14)