Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Likely Telehealth Fraud Cost Medicare $128 Million During Pandemic's First Year
USA Today: 'Guardrails' Needed? Telehealth Fraud Cost Medicare $128M In First Year Of COVID Pandemic, Feds Say
A report by government investigators last week found that more-permissive remote care has come at a price. During the first year of the pandemic, 1,714 doctors and health providers billed Medicare nearly $128 million in “high risk” claims, according to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. (Alltucker, 9/11)
In updates on the spread of covid —
The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Is Still Killing Hundreds Of Americans Daily
Mark Pfundheller promptly got his first two Covid-19 shots and a booster, his family said, knowing the disease was a threat related to treatment for an inflammatory disorder that compromised his immune system. The 66-year-old former aviation consultant for Wisconsin’s Transportation Department caught the virus in April at a family wedding near his home in southern Wisconsin, where many guests were infected. Mr. Pfundheller died in a Madison, Wis., hospital on July 2 after an illness including time on a ventilator. (Kamp, 9/11)
Los Angeles Times: Even In 2022, L.A. COVID Death Rate Is Worse Than Car Crashes. Here's Why
The Omicron coronavirus variant killed Angelenos at a higher rate than both the flu and car crashes during the early part of 2022, according to county health officials. (Lin II and Money, 9/9)
Bangor Daily News: A Troubling COVID-19 Indicator Has Risen By A Quarter In The Past Month
The number of Mainers hospitalized COVID-19 has risen by more than a quarter in the past month, a change that a hospital official said “bears watching” as students return to school and the summer tourist season winds down. (O'Brien, 9/10)
The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Illnesses Are Keeping At Least 500,000 Workers Out Of U.S. Labor Force, Study Says
Illness caused by Covid-19 shrank the U.S. labor force by around 500,000 people, a hit that is likely to continue if the virus continues to sicken workers at current rates, according to a new study released Monday. (Guilford, 9/12)
Loss of smell might be permanent for some —
CIDRAP: Long COVID Tied To Loss Of Smell That May Be Permanent
An observational study of 219 unvaccinated long-COVID patients with neurologic symptoms in the Amazon concludes that 64% had a persistently impaired sense of smell, which the authors said could be permanent. (Van Beusekom, 9/9)
On the vaccine rollout —
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis Research Fuels COVID-19 Nasal Vaccine Rollout In India
The science behind India’s new nasal vaccine for COVID-19 has its roots in St. Louis. India-based drug company Bharat Biotech announced Tuesday that its nasal vaccine had received emergency approval. The vaccine technology was licensed from Washington University. (Merrilees, 9/10)
KHN: Did The US Jump The Gun With The New Omicron-Targeted Vaccines?
Last month, the FDA authorized omicron-specific vaccines, accompanied by breathless science-by-press release and a media blitz. Just days after the FDA’s move, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed, recommending updated boosters for anyone age 12 and up who had received at least two doses of the original covid vaccines. The message to a nation still struggling with the covid-19 pandemic: The cavalry — in the form of a shot — is coming over the hill. But for those familiar with the business tactics of the pharmaceutical industry, that exuberant messaging — combined with the lack of completed studies — has caused considerable heartburn and raised an array of unanswered concerns. (Gounder and Rosenthal, 9/12)
