First Edition: March 10, 2022

KHN: Which Companies Aren’t Exiting Russia? Big Pharma 
Even as the war in Ukraine has prompted an exodus of international companies — from fast-food chains and oil producers to luxury retailers — from Russia, U.S. and global drug companies said they would continue manufacturing and selling their products there. Airlines, automakers, banks, and technology giants — at least 320 companies by one count — are among the businesses curtailing operations or making high-profile exits from Russia as its invasion of Ukraine intensifies. McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola announced a pause in sales this week. (Varney, 3/10)

KHN: Two Years In, Covid Leaves Montana Public Health Officials Feeling ‘Watched’
After covid-19 arrived in Park County, Montana, the local health officer, Dr. Laurel Desnick, became the face of pandemic measures and the focus of attention as never before. She’s been whispered about at the grocery store, yelled at on her way home, and called a tyrant. She and other public health workers say they feel that they’re living in a fishbowl and that everything they say will be scrutinized. “It almost sort of feels like you’re being watched,” Desnick said. “It’s not a good feeling.” (Houghton, 3/10)

The Hill: Democrats Yank COVID Relief After Revolt By Own Members 
Facing a revolt from rank-and-file Democrats, party leaders on Wednesday yanked billions of dollars in emergency funding from a $1.5 trillion government funding package — a move that will allow for passage of the larger package but leaves the fate of the pandemic relief up in the air. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) confirmed the news in a "Dear Colleague" letter on Wednesday afternoon, largely blaming Republicans for the impasse that sparked the stunning last-minute revision to the larger spending package. (Lillis and Folley, 3/9)

Politico: House Dems Clear $1.5T Spending Deal After Stripping Covid Aid 
Democrats were jubilant over the passage of the bill, which was the result of months of protracted battles with GOP leaders. But it wasn’t without last-minute drama in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team were forced to yank the White House’s $15 billion coronavirus relief request out of their bill after dozens of members revolted against paying for that aid using their home states’ stockpiles of pandemic cash. The decision to ditch the virus aid was a tough setback for party leaders and Biden, who now have no clear path to deliver that money — intended to help bolster global vaccinations and prepare the U.S. for another variant. (Ferris, Wu and Scholtes, 3/9)

The New York Times: Uncertainty For Biden’s Covid Plan After Aid Is Dropped From Spending Bill
Faced with Republican resistance after asking for billions of additional dollars to keep fighting the coronavirus, the Biden administration recently supplied Congress with a chart showing how much money it had left for testing, therapeutics and vaccines. It was filled with zeros. But on Wednesday, Democrats in Congress stripped a $15.6 billion emergency aid package from a broader spending bill amid disputes over how to cover the cost. The move injects uncertainty into President Biden’s plan, announced last week, to address “urgent needs” in his pandemic response and to prepare for future variants. (Stolberg and Ngo, 3/9)

The Hill: Pelosi Says Separate Coronavirus Relief Bill Will Be Put On The Floor 'Hopefully Today' 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday that a separate coronavirus relief bill would be put on the House floor “hopefully today” after she informed House members earlier that day that COVID-19 funding would be removed from a $1.5 trillion government funding package. “We have a bill that's going to be on the floor, hopefully today, just depends. We have a bill that I mentioned, that will be on the floor today. And it will be — really contain what the administration says that we need. It’s a separate funding package to continue the battle against coronavirus largely focusing on the new therapies that are there,” Pelosi said during her weekly news conference. (Vakil and Sullivan, 3/9)

The New York Times: House Passes Bill To Bolster Protections For Women Facing Violence
The House on Wednesday voted to renew a lapsed law aimed at preventing domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, approving the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a top priority of President Biden. The measure was included in a sprawling $1.5 trillion spending package to fund the government through September. First written by Mr. Biden in 1994 when he was in the Senate, the law expired in 2019 under President Donald J. Trump and has languished since, even as Mr. Biden has pressed for Congress to strengthen and renew it. The legislation goes next to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. (Karni, 3/9)

NPR: Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Is Added To A $1.5 Trillion Spending Bill
Party leaders announced Wednesday that a long-stalled reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act — the federal law that provides resources to victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence — is included in the $1.5 trillion federal spending package making its way through Congress this week. First enacted in 1994, VAWA lapsed four years ago due to a partisan dispute over an expanded gun provision that Democrats wanted to include in the updated version of the law. Republicans objected, and the reauthorization languished on Capitol Hill ever since. Last month, senators announced they had reached an agreement after months of renewed talks. Democrats backed down from an earlier demand to include a provision that would have expanded existing gun laws that prohibit convicted abusers of possessing firearms, addressing what's commonly referred to as the "boyfriend loophole." (Davis, 3/9)

NBC News: School Meal Programs In 'Financial Peril' After Spending Bill Snub, Advocates Say
A sprawling $1.5 trillion spending bill that would fund the federal government beyond Friday doesn't include special benefits put in place at the start of the pandemic for schools to ensure that every student is fed. The exclusion means child nutrition waivers would expire on June 30, potentially cutting off access to breakfast and lunch for millions of schoolchildren at a time of rising food costs, school nutrition advocates warn. (Ortiz, 3/9)

Politico: Finger-Pointing Ensues After Congress Fails To Extend Universal School Meals 
Schools whose nutrition programs feed millions of kids daily are in a tailspin after expecting an extension for another year. The flexibility allowed an additional 10 million students to eat free meals at school each day. The sudden shift sparked a fierce political fight Wednesday over who is to blame. Democrats and a long list of school groups are pointing at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for taking a hardline stance against extending the waivers. (Evich and Calefati, 3/9)

AP: Biden Restores California's Power To Set Car Emissions Rules
The Biden administration is restoring California’s authority to set its own tailpipe pollution standards for cars, reversing a Trump administration policy and likely ushering in stricter emissions standards for new passenger vehicles nationwide. A waiver approved Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency allows California to set tough emissions rules for cars and SUVs and impose mandates for so-called zero-emission vehicles that do not contribute to global warming. (Daly, 3/9)

AP: Indian Health Service Head Nominated Amid Tough Challenges 
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday he is nominating veteran health administrator Roselyn Tso to oversee the federal agency that delivers health care to more than 2.5 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The selection of Tso to lead the Indian Health Services comes amid a push from tribal health advocates for stability in the agency. Acting directors have filled the role for years at the agency that’s chronically underfunded and struggles to meet the needs of Indian Country. (Fonseca, 3/9)

The Washington Post: Congress Weighs Permanent Daylight Saving Time In A Debate As Regular As Clockwork 
A congressional panel on Wednesday debated whether to end the nation’s “spring forward” and “fall back” daylight saving policy, citing the health effects of shifting the clock twice per year. Most agreed it was about time. On Sunday, people in most parts of the United States will set their clocks ahead one hour so that darkness falls later in the day, a seasonal shift that is enforced by the federal government and will be reversed on Nov. 6. But more than 40 states, including Maryland, are considering changes to end the shifting, and federal lawmakers are weighing legislation that could make daylight saving time permanent. (Diamond, 3/9)

AP: Limits On Insulin Costs Revived In Push For Senate Action
Legislation to limit insulin costs for people with diabetes is getting revived in the Senate. Democrats say they want to move quickly, but they’ll need Republican support to get anything through an evenly divided chamber — and they’re not there yet. Curbs on insulin costs have the backing of President Joe Biden, and before that, even enjoyed support from his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. The goal reemerged this week after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote colleagues that “negotiations are underway with Senate Republicans on legislation to lower the cost of insulin,” part of an urgent push to address economic pain points for American families. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/9)

USA Today: Patient Dies Two Months After Historic Pig Heart Transplant
David Bennett, 57, who received a pig heart in January in place of his own failing one, died Tuesday. It's not yet clear precisely what caused Bennett's death, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, where he received the transplant Jan. 7 and had been recovering since. He began deteriorating in recent days and the hospital announced his death Wednesday. Bennett was the first patient ever to receive an animal organ genetically modified to prevent rejection in a person. (Weintraub, 3/9)

The New York Times: Patient Who Received Groundbreaking Pig Heart Transplant Dies
It was unclear whether his body had rejected the foreign organ. “There was no obvious cause identified at the time of his death,” a hospital spokeswoman said. Hospital officials said they could not comment further on the cause of death, because his physicians had yet to conduct a thorough examination. They plan to publish the results in a peer-reviewed medical journal. (Rabin, 3/9)

AP: US Man Who Got 1st Pig Heart Transplant Dies After 2 Months 
David Bennett’s son praised the hospital for offering the last-ditch experiment, saying the family hoped it would help further efforts to end the organ shortage. “We are grateful for every innovative moment, every crazy dream, every sleepless night that went into this historic effort,” David Bennett Jr. said in a statement released by the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “We hope this story can be the beginning of hope and not the end.” (Neergaard and Johnson, 3/9)

NBC News: Americans Are Besieged By Stress, Poll Finds
Financial woes, coupled with a barrage of horrifying scenes from Ukraine as Russia continues its invasion, have pushed a majority of Americans to unprecedented levels of stress, according to a new report from the American Psychological Association. The association's annual "Stress in America" poll, published Thursday, found that U.S. adults — already weary from two years of the Covid-19 pandemic — are now overwhelmingly troubled by inflation and the war in Ukraine. (Edwards, 3/10)

Politico: Health Experts Plead With Biden To 'Reverse Course' In Global Pandemic Response 
Over 100 public health, medical and epidemiology experts and advocates sent the Biden administration a letter on Wednesday begging it to do more to control the pandemic around the world, saying America’s current global efforts have failed. The authors asked the administration to share Covid-19 vaccine technology and increase manufacturing around the world, ask for more funding from Congress to support distribution in low- and middle-income countries and increase access to Covid therapeutics and rapid tests around the world, according to the letter obtained by POLITICO. (Payne, 3/9)

Bloomberg: Cough Drop Sales Could Be Used To Map Omicron's Spread
As governments around the world start to limit testing for Covid-19, the humble throat drop may become a gauge of how quickly omicron is spreading. Sales of medicated lozenges and gargles, cough suppressants and over-the-counter pain relief medications have soared so high the products are often in short supply around the world, according to manufacturers and sellers. The trend has emerged even in countries where official testing numbers appear to show that active cases are falling. (Ramli, 3/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Lighter Covid-19 Caseload Brings Little Relief To One New York Hospital 
The number of Covid-19 patients has receded at Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare, but its leaders say they expect to stay in crisis mode for the foreseeable future because of persistent staffing shortages and the end of pandemic-related support they have been using as a crutch. Signs of the stress abound: Emergency-room wait times are up, staffed beds are down and patients are being transferred hours away for treatments such as gastrointestinal care that previously were offered on-site. The hospital’s nursing home is reliant upon the National Guard to keep its doors open. (Vielkind, 3/9)

NPR: Nurse License Delays Are Worsening COVID-19 Hospital Staffing Shortages
Three hours spent on hold. That's how long Courtney Gramm waited one day, all so that she might get her license from the state of California to work as a nurse. That morning was just a snapshot from a long ordeal. "Panicked, anxious, frustrated, mad even," Gramm describes how she felt as she called over and over. "I just couldn't get any information out of them." Gramm waited seven months for her nurse practitioner license at a time when COVID-19 cases were skyrocketing across the U.S. and hospitals were desperate to keep nurses on staff. (Fast, 3/10)

Bloomberg: 800 Rural U.S. Hospitals At Risk Of Shutdown As Costs Surge
Pummeled by the pandemic, at least 40% of rural U.S. hospitals are in danger of shutting down and leaving millions of people in smaller and less affluent communities without a nearby emergency and critical care facility. That’s the conclusion of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, whose recent study sees 500 hospitals at immediate risk for closing within two years and more than 300 others at high risk within five years. The grim assessment by the policy center found the problems spread across the country, and that the threats will persist even if the pandemic ends because rising costs are outrunning revenue. (Coleman-Lochner, 3/9)

NBC News: Covid Pill: Pfizer Launches Kids Trial To Test Antiviral
Pfizer announced Wednesday that it has started a clinical trial testing its Covid-19 antiviral pill in children as young as 6. The drugmaker said it aims to enroll approximately 140 participants in the trial, which will look at whether the drug, called Paxlovid, can safely treat Covid in children who are at risk of becoming severely ill. (Lovelace Jr., 3/9)

Politico: Pfizer To Begin Late-Stage Testing Of Covid-19 Antiviral For Kids 
Pfizer will begin Phase II/III testing of its Covid-19 antiviral pill in children, the company said on Wednesday. In December 2021, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Paxlovid, a combination of two antivirals, to treat Covid-19 in high-risk individuals 12 and older weighing at least 88 pounds. The upcoming trials will test the drug at different doses for children as young as 6 years old who test positive for Covid-19 and are not hospitalized, but are also at risk of developing severe disease. (Foley, 3/9)

NBC News: A 2nd Booster May Come This Fall. It Might Not Be The Same Shot You Got Last Time
If another Covid-19 booster shot is needed this fall, it might not be the same shot you got the last time. ... If Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna get their way, the next round of vaccines will contain a new formulation that targets the supercontagious omicron variant, or perhaps two strains of the coronavirus, instead of just one. (Lovelace Jr., 3/9)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly Health Department Admits The City Is Far Less Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Than It Has Been Saying
Philadelphia’s vaccination rates are significantly lower than the Department of Public Health has been saying, officials acknowledged Wednesday, blaming data errors for the inflated figures. Most significant, only a third of Philadelphia’s 5-to-11-year-olds have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, far fewer than the 53.6% officials have been touting for weeks. About 26% of the city’s children in that age range are fully vaccinated, the health department announced in a news release Wednesday, the first day children could attend public schools in the city without masks. (Laughlin and Graham, 3/9)

AP: Two Years Into COVID, Was $800B Payroll Aid Plan Worth It? 
President Donald Trump rolled out the Paycheck Protection Program to catapult the U.S. economy into a quick recovery from the coronavirus pandemic by helping small businesses stay open and their employees working. President Joe Biden tweaked it to try to direct more of the money to poorer communities and minority-owned companies. Now, almost two years after the program made its debut, the question is what taxpayers got for the $800 billion. (Boak, 3/10)

Bloomberg: U.S. Covid Aid Boosted Pay Of 740,000 Frontline Workers
The Biden administration’s $350 billion state and local aid package provided hazard pay or bonuses for more than 740,000 workers on the front lines of the pandemic. First responders, teachers and other government employees “deserve to be compensated for keeping society running during the pandemic,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during an online press briefing Wednesday, at which federal and local officials gave new details on programs financed by last year’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. (Moran and Albright, 3/9)

The Boston Globe: Boston Public Health Officials Rescind Public Health Emergency, Take Steps Toward Ending School Mask Mandate
The end of the emergency measure comes nearly two years after it was declared and represents another milestone in the city’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic. The declaration went into effect on March 15, 2020, enabling the city to institute mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and access to state and federal resources. Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, recommended rescinding the emergency order, noting many provisions have already ended. But she said the agency will remain vigilant in protecting the public from the virus and will respond accordingly when necessary. (Vaznis, 3/9)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Moves To Lift Vaccine Verification Mandate At Indoor Businesses
Los Angeles City Council members took the first step Wednesday toward lifting vaccine verification requirements at many indoor businesses, the latest in a slew of rule relaxations as the Omicron surge steadily fades. While not yet final, the move would have a sweeping effect in the City of Angels: removing the mandate that establishments such as restaurants and bars, hair salons, gyms and movie theaters screen whether their indoor patrons are vaccinated against COVID-19. (Money, Lin II and Alpert Reyes, 3/9)

AP: San Francisco To Nix Vaccination Proof At Gyms, Bars 
San Francisco will stop requiring proof of vaccination to enter some indoor businesses, including restaurants, bars, fitness centers and gyms, officials announced Wednesday. The San Francisco Department of Public Health said that as of Friday it will be up to businesses to require proof of vaccination or a negative test from their staff and customers. (3/9)

The Wall Street Journal: United Airlines To Let Unvaccinated Workers Return 
United Airlines Holdings Inc. will allow workers who haven’t been vaccinated against Covid-19 for religious or medical reasons to return at the end of this month, according to people familiar with the decision. The move permits staffers with exemptions from the carrier’s vaccination requirement for its U.S. employees to return from unpaid leave or from the noncustomer-facing roles they were allowed to apply for as an alternative to their regular jobs, the people said. (Sider, 3/9)

AP: Judge Favors Boosting Sackler Payment In Purdue Pharma Deal 
A judge said Wednesday that he would approve a plan that locks members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma into pumping at least another $1.2 billion into a nationwide lawsuit settlement that, if ultimately confirmed, would transform the company into a public trust. The initial approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain set the stage for an emotional virtual hearing Thursday that will allow people recovering from addiction and those who have lost loved ones to the crisis to directly address some of the Sacklers. (Mulvihill, 3/10)

AP: Opioid Crisis Victims To Confront Purdue Pharma's Owners 
Their advocacy helped send Purdue Pharma into bankruptcy and is forcing the family that has controlled the company for generations to relinquish ownership and provide billions of dollars for communities to combat opioid addiction. But what victims of opioid abuse and those who have lost loved ones to America’s long battle with addiction have wanted most was a chance to confront members of the Sackler family, who they blame for touching off a crisis that has cost some 500,000 lives over the past two decades. On Thursday, some of them will finally get their chance. (Mulvihill, 3/10)

AP: Dozen Doctors Get Prison In Health Care Fraud, Opioid Scheme
A dozen doctors are among 16 people in Michigan and Ohio sentenced to prison for a health care fraud that included the distribution of 6.6 million opioid doses and $250 million in false billings. A multi-state network of pain clinics participated in the scheme from 2007 to 2018 in which doctors refused to provide patients with opioids unless they agreed to expensive, unnecessary and sometimes painful back injections, the Justice Department said Wednesday. (3/10)

AP: Mississippi House Leaders Kill Postpartum Medicaid Extension 
Republican leaders of the Mississippi House killed a bill Wednesday that would have let mothers keep Medicaid coverage for a year after giving birth, up from the current two months. Supporters said extending coverage under the government health insurance program could help reduce Mississippi’s maternal mortality rate, which is significantly higher than the national rate. (Pettus, 3/9)

The Baltimore Sun: Anne Arundel Residents Say They’re Being Put On Hold When They Call 911. County Says Call Center Needs Adjustments
Arnold resident Kirsten Neumann’s daughter Vivian is 4 years old and has been in remission for a year from stage four neuroblastoma — a cancer that grows in immature nerve tissue. Vivian is participating in a clinical trial for a drug to treat the illness. On Feb. 16, the day after she got a shot as part of the trial, Vivian had a low-grade fever. Neumann gave her Tylenol and a few minutes later Vivian started choking, turning blue and seizing. Neumann stuck her finger down Vivian’s throat to induce vomiting, which helped the choking, but she continued to seize. Neumann called 911. “I was greeted with, ‘I’m sorry, we’re experiencing a high call volume. Please hold.’ Elevator music came on and then it disconnected,” Neumann said. (Munro and Belson, 3/10)

AP: Texas-Styled Idaho Abortion Measure Advances In House 
A House panel of Idaho lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill that would ban abortions after cardiac activity is detected in an embryo — at about six weeks of pregnancy — by allowing extended family members of the patient to sue a doctor who performs one. The House State Affairs Committee voted to send the measure to the full House where it is expected to pass. It has already passed the Senate. (Ridler, 3/9)

Dallas Morning News: Texas Appeals Court Sides With Parent Of Transgender Teen In Case Of Alleged Child Abuse
The lawsuit stems from a nonbinding opinion Paxton issued last month interpreting state law to define certain gender-affirming medical treatments as “child abuse.” Based his opinion, Gov. Greg Abbott then directed child protective services and other agencies to investigate reports of minors receiving these treatments. At least three families with transgender children have been visited by CPS agents since the order went out. On March 1, the state employee and a Houston psychologist sued to block the directive with the backing of the ACLU of Texas and Lambda Legal. Travis County District Court Judge Amy Clark Meachum granted their request to temporarily halt implementation of the directive, which applied just to the plaintiffs, the next day. (McGaughy, 3/9)

NBC News: 'Our State Is Terrorizing Us': Texas Families Of Transgender Kids Fight Investigations
L., a mom who lives in Austin, Texas, said she was excited and relieved when her transgender son turned 18 last month, because “he made it.” Her son attempted suicide multiple times, she explained, first when he was just 9 years old. After he came out as trans and started wearing different clothing and using male pronouns, she said she heard him laugh for the first time in a long time. Now, he’s going to college in another state, and L., whose lawyer recommended she go by an initial instead of her full name to protect her family's privacy, thought her family was safe. (Yurcaba, 3/9)

NPR: Disney Now Says It Is Opposed To Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill
The Walt Disney Company has now come out against Florida's Parental Rights In Education bill. The so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill was passed by Florida's House and Senate and is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk. The bill would limit discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. In recent days, Disney employees shared their outrage on social media when the company did not denounce the proposed legislation. On Wednesday, at Disney's annual meeting with shareholders, Disney CEO Bob Chapek acknowledged their anger, saying that he knows "many are upset that we didn't speak out against the bill." (Blair, 3/8)

NBC News: Idaho Lawmakers Seek To Punish Parents Who Take Trans Youth To Other States For Health Care
The Idaho House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation to make it a crime punishable by life in prison for a parent to seek out gender-affirming health care for their transgender child. The bill is among 29 pieces of Republican-backed legislation nationwide proposed so far this year to curtail health care for transgender youth, and it coincides with dozens of additional bills seeking to limit what can be discussed about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools and restrict transgender athletes in school sports. (Kingkade, 3/9)

AP: Health Care Bill Advances For Kids Who Are Illegally In US 
A bill providing state taxpayer-funded health care for children who are in the country illegally and ineligible for Medicaid or other federally funded coverage has cleared a House committee. The Democrat-led committee voted unanimously Wednesday to release the bill for consideration by the full House. (Chase, 3/9)

The New York Times: New Yorkers With Marijuana Convictions Will Get First Retail Licenses
New York State will soon announce plans to usher in its first outlets for retail sales of marijuana by the end of the year, giving applicants access to stockpiles of the drug grown by local farmers and offering sweeteners like new storefronts leased by the state. The only catch? To be one of the state’s first licensed retailers, you or a member of your family must have been convicted of a marijuana-related offense. (McKinley and Ashford, 3/9)

AP: A Look Inside The 1st Official 'Safe Injection Sites' In US 
Jose Collado settled in at a clean white table in a sunlit room, sang a few bars and injected himself with heroin. After years of shooting up on streets and rooftops, he was in one of the first two facilities in the country where local officials are allowing illegal drug use in order to make it less deadly. (Peltz, 3/9)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania Warns About Risks Of Deer Tick Virus
As the warmer weather comes with spring, so does a pest that seemingly grows in virulence each year: the tick. This year, officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection are cautioning those venturing outside that “the rare but dangerous” deer tick virus, or DTV, has been detected at high levels in ticks for the first time in several areas of the state, and as close to Philly as Montgomery County. DTV is a type of Powassan virus, which the CDC says has increased in recent years, mostly in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions from late spring to midfall, when ticks are most active. Pennsylvania began detecting DTV-positive ticks after it launched its five-year tick surveillance program in 2018. (Kummer, 3/10)

North Carolina Health News: A Widow’s Mission To Change NC Dental Sedation Rules 
When Shital Patel accompanied her husband Henry to a dental appointment in Leland on July 30, 2020, she was told it would not be long before he returned to the lobby of Mark Austin’s oral surgery practice. Hemant “Henry” Patel, a cardiologist with ties to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center, had gone to Austin Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for a tooth implant procedure. “They told me, it’s going to be 20 minutes ma’am, he’ll be in and out, no problem,” Patel recounted to the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners at a meeting in February. “Twenty, 30 minutes go by, I ask, ‘Hey, can you update me?’ They said, ‘Oh we got a late start,’ which I completely understand being married to a physician. Wait another 15, 20, 30 minutes, and I ask again. They say, ‘We already told you, we got a late start.'” Patel’s anxiety grew. (Blythe, 3/10)

Detroit Free Press: MyMichigan Health CEO, Spouse Dies In Florida Plane Crash
MyMichigan Health President and CEO Diane Postler-Slattery and her husband, Donald Slattery, died in a fatal plane crash in northwest Florida on Tuesday. Greg Rogers, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said it is a huge loss for the health system. “Diane was a strong, passionate and inspirational leader and was beloved by her family, friends and colleagues. We ask that you keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers and that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.” Rogers is serving as acting CEO for the health system until further action is taken. (Stein, 3/9)

Los Angeles Times: Two Arrested In $30-Million California Hospice Fraud Scheme
A Ventura County doctor and a marketer from Lancaster were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of carrying out a hospice fraud scheme that netted more than $30 million from Medicare, federal authorities said. Dr. Victor Contreras, 66, of Santa Paula, and Callie Jean Black, 63, of Lancaster were arraigned Tuesday and pleaded not guilty, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California. (Yee, 3/9)

Bloomberg: Ukraine Warns Of Chernobyl Radiation; IAEA Says Risk Low
A cut power cable leading to Ukraine’s defunct nuclear power plant in Chernobyl prompted officials on Wednesday to warn of potential safety risks. The 2,600 square kilometer (1,000 mile) Chernobyl exclusion zone, site of the deadly 1986 meltdown, also houses a nuclear-waste facility, where spent fuel from Ukraine’s reactors is encased for safe long-term storage. Operator Energoatom said the power cut could elevate safety risks because the temperature of the spent fuel will gradually rise, potentially resulting in a release of radiation. (Tirone and Choursina, 3/9)

CBS News: Pfizer Plans No Further Investment In Russia, Says CEO Albert Bourla 
The chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says his company does not have plans to invest further in Russia, as that nation's invasion of Ukraine is about to enter its third week. Still, CEO Albert Bourla told "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan that Pfizer is not cutting ties with Russia entirely, and noted that while the company makes "some medicines in Russia for Russia," the company does not export from Russia. (Escobedo, 3/9)

Axios: U.S. Set To Miss COVID Vaccine Donation Goal
The U.S. has pledged to donate more than 1 billion COVID vaccines around the world, but it would have to significantly scale up its monthly donation rate to meet that goal by the end of this year, according to a new Public Citizen analysis. Vaccines not only save lives, but also help protect the world against new variants. The U.S. had shipped 474 million doses abroad by the end of February and was recently donating around 60 million doses a month. To reach 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2022 — which USAID recently cited as the administration's goal — the U.S. would have to increase its donation rate to 73 million doses per month, per Public Citizen. (Owens, 3/9)