Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals Ask HHS For More Time To Spend Covid Relief Funds
The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Want More Time To Spend Covid-19 Relief Money
Some lawmakers and healthcare providers are calling on the Biden administration to extend a deadline for hospitals to spend emergency coronavirus funding, with more than $30 billion remaining to be distributed out of about $187 billion Congress approved. The money is intended to help hospitals cover losses related to the Covid-19 pandemic, but delays have dogged the program. Hospitals must spend the money by June 30 or return it, but many say they need more time because they are still feeling the financial sting from the pandemic. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said his agency was reviewing the extension requests. (Armour and Evans, 5/21)
Bloomberg Law: Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients Cost Medicare $16.6 Billion
Traditional Medicare has spent $16.6 billion on Covid-19 hospitalizations for more than 691,000 beneficiaries since 2020, an average of about $24,000 per patient, according to government data released Thursday. The total taxpayer toll, however, is likely much higher because those figures don’t include spending for the more than 450,000 Covid-19 hospitalizations among beneficiaries in private Medicare Advantage plans. (Pugh, 5/20)
Other Biden administration news —
The Washington Post: Biden Vowed To 'Follow The Science,' But Left Out Many Others With Sudden Mask Guidance
President Biden repeats the phrase frequently. “We follow the science,” he pledged on a visit to the National Institutes of Health. “Follow the science,” he told staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This administration will follow the science,” he said during a White House event announcing the 50 millionth vaccine shot delivered to an American. A week ago, the president did just that — strolling to the Rose Garden to trumpet new guidance from the CDC that fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks or socially distance in most instances. But in following that scientific advice, the administration left out nearly everyone else — local and state health departments, labor unions, governors and numerous other public officials, many of whom were caught off guard by one of the most significant developments of the coronavirus pandemic. (Linskey, Abutaleb, Sun and Pager, 5/21)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Andrea Palm, Biden's No. 2 At HHS , Reflects On Wisconsin COVID Fight
Andrea Palm has gotten something in Washington, D.C., that she never got in Wisconsin: a confirmation. Palm, who led Wisconsin's response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the two years she spent as secretary-designee of the state Department of Health Services, was never confirmed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. (Spicuzza, 5/20)
From the borders —
Axios: HHS Prepared To Double Migrant Kids Capacity At Texas Facility
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this week he's prepared, if needed, to double the capacity for underage migrants at Fort Bliss, Texas, Axios has learned. (Goba and Nichols, 5/20)
NPR: Migrant Shelters Violate The Flores Agreement, Advocates Say
Immigration advocates credit the Biden administration with acting quickly to move tens of thousands of migrant children out of jail-like detention facilities on the U.S. southern border and into safer emergency shelters. But the advocates are now growing increasingly concerned about the conditions in the mass shelters, such as a military base in El Paso, Texas. (Ordoñez, 5/21)
CNBC: U.S. Continues Covid Travel Restrictions At Canada, Mexico Land Borders
The U.S. will continue to enforce coronavirus-related restrictions on nonessential travel across U.S. land borders through June 21, the Biden administration announced on Thursday. “We’re working closely with Canada & Mexico to safely ease restrictions as conditions improve,” the Department of Homeland Security said on Twitter. (Brueninger, 5/20)
