Welcome to Wednesday’s Overnight Health Care.
The House passed emergency funding for the coronavirus response as the death toll nationally rose to 11. The Trump administration has new guidelines for nursing homes, and Seattle is urging people over age 60 to avoid large public gatherings.
We’ll start with the funding…
House passes $8.3 billion measure to fight coronavirus
A rare moment of bipartisanship on a major bill: Lawmakers on Wednesday passed billions in new funding to fight the coronavirus.
The 415-2 vote came just hours after lawmakers in both chambers struck the bipartisan deal for emergency funding. The Senate is expected to take up the measure as early as this week.
The bill provides $7.76 billion to agencies combating the coronavirus — three times the $2.5 billion initially requested by the White House.
Some details:
- $300 million for global health efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Roughly $3 billion will go toward supporting research and development of vaccines, treatments and tests.
- About $1 billion will pay for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, including masks and other protective equipment for workers.
The measure is expected to soon pass the Senate and be signed by President Trump.
There were hangups over a Democratic push to insert language to control the affordability of a potential vaccine, but Republicans objected. The final version passes the buck to the administration– it gives the HHS secretary the authority to take actions on affordability, if necessary.
Who voted against it? House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), citing concerns about spending levels.
Seattle urges people over 60 to stay home ‘as much as possible’ due to coronavirus
Officials in King County in Washington State are urging elderly people, pregnant women and others at higher risk from the coronavirus to stay home and avoid large gatherings as much as possible.
The response is meant to slow and mitigate the spread of the virus, and represents a new phase of actions in the United States to fight it.
Public Health Seattle & King County officials said Wednesday that “people at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible.”
People at higher risk are classified as people age 60 and older, people with underlying health conditions like heart disease, lung disease or diabetes, people with weakened immune systems and people who are pregnant.
“We understand these actions will have a tremendous impact on the lives of people in our community,” the public health department for Seattle and King County said in a statement. “We are making these recommendations in consultation with CDC based on the best information we have currently to protect the public’s health.”
Trump administration issues new guidance for nursing homes to combat coronavirus
The Trump administration on Wednesday issued new guidance to prioritize inspection efforts at nursing homes around the country in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
Vice President Mike Pence met with nursing home and long-term care industry leaders at the White House on Wednesday morning as part of ongoing outreach between the government and businesses affected by the virus.
The administration later distributed updated protocols to ensure nursing homes are taking proper measures to limit the transmission of the disease among one of the most vulnerable populations.
“We have raised the bar involving infectious disease control at our nursing homes,” Pence told reporters at a press briefing.
The government is reallocating its inspection resources to focus specifically on whether nursing homes are complying with infection control standards, Pence said. Surveyors typically also monitor for issues like abuse and neglect during inspection.
More on the coronavirus
New Hampshire coronavirus patient broke quarantine to attend Dartmouth Business event
Medical professional at Los Angeles airport tests positive for coronavirus
AIPAC says group of attendees at conference may have had past exposure to coronavirus
United Airlines canceling 10 percent of US flights in April and May
Crowds banned at Italian sporting events for next month due to virus
Prince William asks if coronavirus seems ‘a little bit hyped up’
Veterans Affairs treating one coronavirus patient in California
Pence to travel to Washington as state grapples with coronavirus
Obama urges public to ‘stay calm’ and ‘listen to the experts’ on coronavirus
Carson on coronavirus: Task force is not ‘sugarcoating’ messaging
Meanwhile… there was a major abortion case before the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court appeared split on Wednesday during arguments over a Louisiana abortion law that could see the court revisit the protections that emerged in the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
In June Medical Services v. Russo, the first major abortion case since President Trump shifted the court’s balance to the right, the justices weighed the constitutionality of a law requiring that Louisiana doctors who perform abortions be able to admit patients at a local hospital.
Chief Justice John Roberts, likely the crucial vote, offered no clear signal about whether the Louisiana regulation might face the same fate as a virtually identical Texas law the court struck down four years ago.
Supporters of the Louisiana law have painted it as a necessary regulation to guarantee the health and safety of patients. But critics of such laws, including the American Medical Association, say abortion is safe and the extra regulations are unnecessary.
Roberts’ questions Wednesday seemed focused on the extent to which the court is bound to follow the 2016 decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. In that case, a 5-3 court struck down Texas’ admitting-privilege law — which served as a model for the Louisiana law — as unconstitutional, finding its burdens outweighed its benefits. Roberts joined a dissent from that ruling.
The case is before the justices in an election year, with high stakes for both sides in the debate.
Roberts also rebuked Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a rare public statement over the senator’s comments about two conservative justices and the case on Wednesday. More on that here.
Michigan work requirements blocked in court
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday blocked Michigan from implementing Medicaid work requirements.
In a partial summary judgement, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, said that since an appeals court struck down similar requirements in Arkansas, the federal government’s approval of Michigan’s work requirements were also invalid.
Michigan’s waiver for work requirements was announced in 2018, at the end of former GOP Gov. Rick Snyder’s term. His successor, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, filed a motion to have the requirements thrown out.
Under the initial waiver, able-bodied Medicaid recipients would have been required to work, volunteer or go to school for 80 hours a month, or risk losing their insurance.
Four Michigan residents sued the federal government in November, with assistance from advocacy groups.
What we’re reading
UnitedHealth stock leads health-care stock rally after Biden’s Super Tuesday victory (MarketWatch)
Coronavirus stress test: many 5-star nursing homes have infection-control lapses (Kaiser Health News)
Brand-name prescription drug prices have spiked since 2007 (Axios)
Coronavirus could expose the worst parts of the U.S. health system (Axios)
State by state
Why support for Medicare-for-all didn’t translate into a bigger Super Tuesday for Bernie Sanders (Vox.com)
Minnesota DHS faces possible fines for regulatory breakdowns that led to Medicaid overpayments (startribune.com)
Advocates deliver petition to put Medicaid expansion state question on ballot (KOCO)
Op-eds in The Hill