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CMS has issued an emergency reg that states all eligible staff at healthcare facilities participating in fed med must be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022.
President Biden has directed OSHA to implement a Covid mandate for all private employers with over 100 employees to have all their employees vaccinated or to do weekly testing and wear masks. The courts have stopped this mandate.
Physicians will get a 4% haircut on their conversion factor they use to bill fed med. Inflation is running at 2% so they are taking a 6% loss on each patient.
The feds have announced a huge Part B Medicare premium hike. The huge raise is due to the new Alzheimer drug that is very expensive but to date has not been widely prescribed. Since the drug is given in physician offices it is a Part B and not a Part D drug.
The administration is committing $650 million to get more rapid Covid tests and for follow up testing for those who receive a positive test.
The administration is giving an additional $785 million to reduce inequities in communities hit the hardest by Covid. It is to boost confidence in the vaccine and to build a more diverse public health force. I have no idea where this money will come from.
Colorado's governor Polis signed an executive order authorizing the health department to determine if the hospitals will soon be full and if they can halt admissions and transfer patients. This is a limited 30 day order.
California has signed a new contract worth up to $1.7 Billion with Valencia Branch Laboratory for Covid testing. This in spite of allegations that the lab was full of significant deficiencies. The report of those deficiencies was supposed to be released seven months ago but Governor Newsom has hid the results. This is part of the no bid contract by Newsom to PerkinElmer to run the lab. Graft is prevalent in the state. Top
DISCLAIMER: Although this article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the
time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers
should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the
information presented.