 | FRI, APR 03, 2020 | | | | Coronavirus: Insurers waive costs as cases surge; a look at US testing | | | | States are continuing to ramp up restrictions to contain the coronavirus outbreak after the White House projected between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in the United States. In New York, the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., Gov. Andrew Cuomo closed all playgrounds in New York City as deaths began to climb across the state. U.S. health officials are urging Americans to stay indoors, hoping the efforts will result in as few deaths as possible. More on the outbreak below.
A program reminder – we will be gathering healthcare leaders at the center of the fight against coronavirus for an interactive virtual event on May 12. Guests will include Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, Former Head of the CDC and Merck Chief Patient Offficer Julie Gerberding, Regeneron Founder and CEO Len Schleifer, and many more. Learn more and request an invitation at CNBCevents.com/healthyreturns.
| | This week insurers waived COVID treatment costs | Last month, insurers said they'd waive cost-sharing on coronavirus testing but stopped short on treatments. This past week that changed. Aetna was the first to commit to first-dollar coverage for treatment in-network. Centene and Anthem followed this week. Cigna and Humana have gone further than the others, saying they'll provide first-dollar coverage for all treatments both in and out of network. Cigna CEO David Cordani told us that it was the right thing to do.
-Bertha Coombs | | | | A look at US testing, in charts, shows massive variability among states | The U.S. surpassed the 1-million test milestone this week, but a look on a per capita basis at states' testing numbers shows dramatic variability. New York, no surprise, is in the lead, followed by Washington and Louisiana – that's as New Orleans' cases double every 3.1 days. Lagging? Texas, South Carolina and California, which reports a huge backlog of 57,000 pending tests. Meanwhile, a White House official noted half a million tests are going unused. The WHO's directive to "test, test, test" seems harder than it looks.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | Rural hospitals and private medical practices are facing an uncertain future | As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, many hospitals and clinics are canceling procedures that are nonessential. That's an important to preserve much-needed supplies, including masks and gloves, and to free up more doctors and nurses for urgent care. Some medical providers told CNBC that their revenues are now down to almost zero, and they fear that their future is uncertain. Congress has set aside a pool of money for health providers, but experts predict that the bulk of it will go to the larger health systems that are treating the most COVID-19 patients.
-Chrissy Farr | | | | Dr. Anthony Fauci says vaccine trial is on target and will be 'ultimate game changer' | The first human trial testing a potential vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is "on track" with public distribution still projected in 12 to 18 months, which would be the "ultimate game changer" in the fight against the pandemic, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said. U.S. health officials have been fast-tracking work with biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine to prevent COVID-19. They began their first human trials on a potential vaccine March 16. The trial had to test three different doses of the vaccine, Fauci said, adding that they've already tested the first two doses and are now administering the highest dose to human volunteers to see if there are any adverse reactions to it. He said they should be ready to begin phase two within a few months. "The ultimate solution to a virus that might be coming back would be a vaccine," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said.
-Noah Higgins-Dunn | | | | Over 1,000 cops hit with coronavirus in NYC as 911 calls rise | More than 1,400 NYPD employees, including more than 1,000 uniformed officers, have been infected with COVID-19, as of Wednesday. Some 6,100 uniformed officers, or about 17% of the 36,000-strong workforce, called out sick Wednesday, Police Chief Terence Monahan said. As infections among officers rise, 911 medical calls are hitting record highs, according to the FDNY, forcing EMTs to "hold" hundreds of emergency calls. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier this week that some infected officers have begun to recover and until they are back to work, healthy officers will pick up some overtime.
-Will Feuer | | | | Hospital prepares for 'slow-moving tsunami' of cases as surgical masks, ventilators are in short supply | San Diego-based hospital system Scripps Health is preparing for coronavirus cases in the city to "spike" in what CEO Chris Van Gorder described to me as a "slow-moving tsunami" — even as it is already running out of surgical masks and doctors prepare to convert anesthesia machines into ventilators in a pinch. Van Gorder, watching the outbreak rapidly expand in New York over the past month, said the health system has been preparing to get hit for quite a while. He said the staff has a "sufficient" number of N95 masks, which filter out about 95% of all liquid or airborne particles. "But once we get into our heavy time, we anticipate our supply could go very, very quickly," he said. Dorms at the University of California San Diego, which has shifted all courses online, could be used to hold some patients, he said.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | How to navigate health benefits if you're out of work due to COVID | More than 9 million people filed for unemployment over the last two weeks, and for a lot of them that marks a scary transition when it comes to health benefits in the midst of the Covid epimedic. Full-time workers who are furloughed will generally still have health benefits. For those who are laid off, or whose companies have gone out of business, the Obamacare exchanges may offer a silver lining. With the deep falloff in income, experts say many will qualify for premium subsidies. I talked to experts about how they should proceed now.
-Bertha Coombs | | Healthy Returns: Investing in health care innovation
How innovators and investors are working with patients and providers to develop dynamic new solutions and create healthy returns.
CNBC presents a one-day event that brings together top health care investors, CEOs and technologists to explore the innovations that will drive better outcomes, financially and clinically.
Led by CNBC's anchors and reporters, Healthy Returns hones in on groundbreaking ideas that will transform the health care industry, cutting through the noise and weeding out the "sales pitch." | | Healthy Returns May 12, 2020
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