April 8, 2021 6:08 AM By Brandon Lee
The coronavirus pandemic is erupting anew in youth sports across the U.S., prompting fresh warnings from President Joe Bidenâs health advisers and adding a headwind to his push to reopen classrooms.
Several states have faced recent outbreaks linked to sporting events and to a variant of the virus from the U.K. called B.1.1.7. Michigan is an epicenter both of the latest surge and the U.K. variant, which is regarded as more transmissible than the original strain of the virus and may be deadlier.
Elementary, middle and high schools have driven the outbreak in Michigan more than any other setting, largely through sports such as basketball and wrestling, according to data compiled by the state.
April 1, 2021 6:07 AM By Brandon Lee
President Joe Bidenâs call to spend $400 billion to expand home and community-based care is raising advocatesâ hopes that lawmakers might finally address long-standing challenges the industry, the elderly and people with disabilities face.
Bidenâs multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal unveiled yesterday included the new funds over eight years to boost access to long-term care under Medicaid, the federal governmentâs public health insurance program for the poor and disabled. Many Americans suffer on waiting lists for home care under Medicaid, the main payer for home- and community-based support. Wages remain low for home-care workers in demanding jobs. Biden has signaled he wants to handle these costly issues side-by-side.
March 12, 2021 6:08 AM By Brandon Lee
President Joe Biden offered Americans a glimpse of hope that life would begin to return to normal this summer as he marked a year of U.S. shutdowns and death, ordering a further acceleration of the governmentâs efforts to end the pandemic.
In his first prime-time address to the country since his inauguration, the president directed states to make all U.S. adults eligible for vaccinations by May 1, and he said his administration would reach his goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office by his 60th day as president.
âWeâre not only going to meet that goal, weâre going to beat that goal,â he said in remarks on the anniversary of the day a year ago when the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. âI need you to get vaccinated when itâs your turn and you can find an opportunity,â Biden said.
March 2, 2021 6:10 AM By Brandon Lee
Ambulance companies are seeking a major victory as Senate Democrats consider whether to allow Medicare to pay them as emergency responders in the field.
The proposed change, which may be added to the Covid-19 relief package the Senate is expected to take up later this week, would empower the Department of Health and Human Services to temporarily pay ambulance providers for services they deliver to Medicare beneficiaries outside a hospital. Ambulances are generally paid by Medicare only to deliver patients to an emergency room currently.
If a patient refuses to go to a hospital, which ambulance companies say is increasingly common as people are wary of health-care facilities during the pandemic, ambulances responding to a call often recoup no reimbursement from Medicare.
February 22, 2021 6:09 AM By Brandon Lee
Nearly a month after U.S. vaccination campaigns ramped up to give Covid-19 shots to more than a million people a day, their second doses are coming due, straining state rollouts and leaving some without complete immunizations.
In Texas alone, almost 6,000 people were overdue for their second shots in early February. In Washington state, health officials said last week that some mass vaccination clinics would be delivering follow-up doses only. A Michigan hospital system canceled last-dose appointments for the past week after its supply was reduced.
âAll I have on hand is enough to get me through today and tomorrow,â Carolyn Wilson, chief operating officer of Beaumont Health system in Michigan, said in an interview.