Telehealth Plays Big Role in Coronavirus Cure
“As our country responds to the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, we are working rapidly to change the way we practice medicine to keep people safe,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams and CMS Administrator Seema Verma write in the Orlando Sentinel. “One critical innovation is the use of telehealth, which allows patients to use smartphones, laptops, and other widely available technologies to connect with your healthcare team . . . For the duration of the pandemic, Medicare beneficiaries may now stay at home and use a commonly available interactive form of technology like FaceTime or Skype to have a telehealth office visit.” -- Orlando Sentinel- Friday, April 10, 2020
“The US economy grew at a faster rate than expected in the July-September quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s advance report released on Friday,” Akin Oyedele reports for Business Insider. With 3.5 percent GDP growth for the third quarter, it marks “the economy’s best back-to-back quarters in four years.”
"The booming U.S. economy appears to be reducing dependence on federal health insurance for the poor," Berkeley Lovelace Jr. reports for CNBC. Medicaid enrollment has fallen for the first time since 2007, and "states largely attribute the enrollment slowdown to a strengthening economy, resulting in fewer new low-income people qualifying for Medicaid," he adds.--
The Trump administration is launching a program to help states care for pregnant women who are using opioids and for their babies who are born dependent on the drugs," Kimberly Leonard writes in the Washington Examiner. "The Maternal Opioid Misuse program, or the 'M-O-M model,' will work with state Medicaid programs to help set up services for pregnant women who are dependent on opioids and their infants, who can develop [a] condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome." --
"Americans should have more options than one plan their employer selects for them. And they should be able to maintain their insurance when they change employers or exit the job market to raise a family or care for a sick loved one," Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and HHS Secretary Alex Azar write in The Wall Street Journal. "That's why the administration is proposing a regulation that would create a new way for employers to provide health coverage for employees."
"Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen warned Sunday that the illegal immigrant caravan heading toward the U.S. could be exploited by cartels that control most of the illegal flow of people through Latin America," Stephen Dinan reports for The Washington Times. "While we closely monitor the caravan crisis, we must remain mindful of the transnational criminal organizations and other criminals that prey on the vulnerabilities of those undertaking the irregular migration journey," Secretary Nielsen said in a statement. --
“President Trump’s promise to cut Obama-era regulations has gone into overdrive, with the slashing generating $33 billion in savings, far more than expected,” Paul Bedard reports for the Washington Examiner. “A new report from the White House budget office said that $23 billion in savings has occurred this year alone, with the total at $33 billion since the president took office.”