First Edition: April 17, 2020

Kaiser Health News: As Ventilators Become Crucial In Saving Lives, Repair Roadblocks Remain
For years, manufacturers of ventilators and other medical equipment have kept a tight grip on the ability of hospitals to service and repair those products, prompting lawsuits and under-the-table sharing of repair manuals and software passwords. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for product information to keep ventilators up and running is at an all-time high. (Hawryluk, 4/17)

Kaiser Health News: ‘It’s Not Over Until It’s Over’: 5 Things To Know About Hitting The COVID-19 Peak
As New York, California and other states begin to see their numbers of new COVID-19 cases level off or even slip, it might appear as if we’re nearing the end of the pandemic. President Donald Trump and some governors have pointed to the slowdown as an indication that the day has come for reopening the country. “Our experts say the curve has flattened and the peak in new cases is behind us,” Trump said Thursday in announcing the administration’s guidance to states about how to begin easing social distancing measures and stay-at home orders. (Galewitz, 4/17)

Kaiser Health News: Big Brother Wants To Track Your Location And Health Data. And That’s Not All Bad.
A growing mix of health and technology experts are convinced that if the United States is to ever effectively track the coronavirus and slow its spread, then both self-reported and more surreptitiously gathered personal data — a mix of information about location, travel, symptoms and health conditions ― must be gathered from millions of Americans. (Appleby and Knight, 4/16)

Kaiser Health News: With Federal Nod, Consumers Could Lose The Boost They Get From Drug ‘Coupons’
Patients who get financial help from drug companies to cover their copayments for prescription drugs could owe a bigger chunk of their costs under a proposed federal rule. The annual rule, which sets a wide range of standards regarding benefits and payments for most health plans for next year, would allow employers and insurers to decide that drug companies’ assistance doesn’t count toward their members’ deductible or out-of-pocket maximum spending limits. (Andrews, 4/16)

Kaiser Health News: California Shies Away From Calls To Eliminate Restrictions On Nurse Practitioners
As the demand for health care workers surges with the coronavirus case count, many states are rushing to lift restrictions on nurse practitioners, who provide much of the same care as doctors do. But California allows nurse practitioners to work only under the supervision of a doctor, and most limitations on their practice are likely to hold. (Bluth, 4/17)

Kaiser Health News: The COVID-19 Bailout That’s Left Every Hospital Unhappy In Its Own Way
In the throes of the novel coronavirus outbreak in early April, Kenneth Raske, president of the powerful Greater New York Hospital Association, took his case for needing billions in federal relief funding to another New Yorker, well placed in the White House. The April 8 call with Jared Kushner lasted “probably 30 seconds.” After all, Raske said, the facts speak for themselves. (Pradhan and Weber, 4/16)

Kaiser Health News: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: How Will We Reopen The Economy?
President Donald Trump wants to reopen the country soon. But public health experts from across the ideological spectrum insist that won’t be safe until the country can dramatically ramp up testing and contact tracing stemming from those infected. Meanwhile, the political sparring among the president and members of Congress and the nation’s governors is not helping Americans understand what they should do in this grave public health crisis. (4/16)

Kaiser Health News: Obama: GOP’s Stance On Preexisting Conditions Off-Base, Especially During Pandemic
Endorsing his former vice president, Joe Biden, to win the White House, former President Barack Obama sought to contrast the 2020 platforms of Democrats and Republicans on a critical plank: their stance on the Affordable Care Act. It’s a difference, he argued, that has assumed newfound urgency. “The Republicans occupying the White House and running the Senate … have shown themselves willing to cut millions off their health insurance and eliminate preexisting condition protections for millions more, even in the middle of this public health crisis,” Obama said. (Luthra, 4/17)

Kaiser Health News: NYC Nurse Says He’s Not Scared: ‘I Am Only Doing My Job’ For COVID-19 Patients
Before the deadly coronavirus hit New York, Francisco Díaz’s job as a gerontological nurse practitioner was educating seniors on managing their diabetes. Now, he’s at the heart of the pandemic, working in a New York City emergency room. (Andalo, 4/17)

The New York Times: Trump Says States Can Start Reopening While Acknowledging The Decision Is Theirs
President Trump told the nation’s governors on Thursday that they could begin reopening businesses, restaurants and other elements of daily life by May 1 or earlier if they wanted to, but abandoned his threat to use what he had claimed was his absolute authority to impose his will on them. On a day when the nation’s death toll from the coronavirus increased by more than 2,000 for a total over 30,000, the president released a set of nonbinding guidelines that envisioned a slow return to work and school over weeks or months. (Baker and Shear, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Guidelines For Reopening States Amid Coronavirus Pandemic Will Leave Decisions To Governors
“I think you’re going to have some nice surprises over the next few days,” [Trump] said. “And I think it’ll be much faster than people think.”Earlier Thursday, Trump explained the parameters to governors on a conference call, assuring them, “You’re going to call your own shots,” according to a recording of the call obtained by The Washington Post. But he emphasized that the federal government will be involved to support the states in the process. (Dawsey, Kim, Sonmez and Itkowitz, 4/16)

The Associated Press: Trump Gives Governors 3-Phase Plan To Reopen Economy
The new guidelines are aimed at easing restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while holding the line in harder-hit locations. They make clear that the return to normalcy will be a far longer process than Trump initially envisioned, with federal officials warning that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak. And they largely reinforce plans already in the works by governors, who have primary responsibility for public health in their states. (Miller, Suderman and Freking, 4/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Guidelines To Reopen Economy Put Onus On Governors
In the second phase, nonessential travel could resume and bars could open with some restrictions. Schools and youth activities could reopen. Vulnerable individuals would still be told to stay home and visits to nursing homes and hospitals would still be barred. Telework would continue to be encouraged. For phase three, there would be no restrictions on workplaces and vulnerable people could resume social interactions, but should seek to follow social distancing. Visits to hospitals and nursing homes could resume, and bars could increase their standing-room capacity. (Restuccia and Lucey, 4/16)

Reuters: Trump Unveils Three-Stage Process For States To End Coronavirus Shutdown
The recommendations call on states to show a “downward trajectory” of COVID-19 cases or positive tests for the disease over 14 days before proceeding with the plan, which gradually loosens restrictions on businesses that have been shuttered to blunt the spread of the virus. “We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,” Trump told reporters at the White House. The president had said earlier this month he wanted to reopen the economy with a “big bang.” (Mason and Holland, 4/16)

The Associated Press: A Look At New Guidance To States On The Coronavirus
The guidance affects certain employers differently. For example, schools and organized youth activities that are currently closed, such as daycare, should remain closed. The guidance also says that bars should remain closed. However, larger venues such as movie theaters, churches, ballparks and arenas can operate but under strict distancing protocols. If possible, employers should have workers return to the job in phases. Also under phase one, vulnerable individuals such as elderly people and those with underlying health conditions should continue to shelter in place. (Freking, 4/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Read: Guidelines For Opening Up America.
Read the text of President Donald Trump’s new guidelines. (4/16)

Politico: How Trump Can Skirt Transparency Rules As He Talks To Business Leaders
The White House is skirting a key transparency law in its rushed effort to tap industry leaders for advice on reopening the country — and it’s not the first time. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the initiative with much fanfare, rattling off the names of more than 200 business leaders that he said would be part of the “Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups.” He then dove into the outreach campaign Wednesday, holding four conference calls with different segments of the massive group and compiling thoughts on how to restart the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Gerstein, 4/17)

The New York Times: Tracking Trump’s Promises On Responding To The Virus
Coronavirus testing will be available in commercial parking lots and can be found through a few clicks on a website. Millions of masks and “more ventilators than we need” will be delivered imminently. Monitoring capabilities for the next phase of the pandemic are on the way. President Trump has made many promises about responding to the coronavirus crisis. But in the month since he declared a national emergency and as he encourages steps toward reopening the economy, many of them remain unfulfilled or works in progress. (Qiu, 4/16)

The Associated Press: 7 Midwest States To Partner On Reopening The Economy
Seven Midwestern governors announced Thursday that they will coordinate on reopening their state economies amid the coronavirus pandemic, after similar pacts were made in the Northeast and on the West Coast. The latest agreement includes Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kentucky. (Eggert, 4/16)

CNN: 7 Midwestern Governors Announce Their States Will Coordinate On Reopening
The announcement came in a news release from Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, sent on behalf of all the participating governors. “Our number one priority when analyzing when best to reopen our economy is the health and safety of our citizens,” the governors said in a joint statement. “We will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education,” the statement added. (Sgueglia and Kelly, 4/16)

The Hill: Two-Thirds Of Americans Worry States Will Lift Restrictions On Public Activity Too Quickly: Poll 
About two-thirds of Americans worry that state governments will lift their restrictions on public activity too quickly following the coronavirus outbreak, according to a poll released Thursday. Pew Research Center’s poll found 66 percent of respondents were concerned states will reopen public activity too quickly, compared to 32 percent who are more concerned they won’t reopen quickly enough. (Coleman, 4/16)

Politico: Coronavirus Fatigue Bubbles Over As Lockdowns Enter Second Month
Signs of unrest are emerging across the country as Americans grow tired of social distancing measures that have prevented innumerable deaths but disrupted their everyday lives and cost millions their jobs. Demonstrators have held protests in a half-dozen states this week, with more to come. A suspect broke into a small business in Washington, D.C., where passersby looted more than $2,000 worth of wine. And several major cities have seen spikes in calls to suicide hotlines as public health officials warn of the toll the coronavirus pandemic can take on mental health. (McCaskill, 4/16)

The Associated Press: Coronavirus Could Complicate Trump’s Path To Reelection
The coronavirus is poised to reshape the political map, pummeling battleground states and alarming Republicans who see early signs of an election that could be a referendum on President Donald Trump’s management of the crisis. The pandemic, which has killed more than 30,000 Americans and left millions out of work, has eviscerated Trump’s hope to run for reelection on a strong economy. A series of states he won in 2016 could tilt toward Democrats. (Lemire, Riccardi and Beaumont, 4/17)

The Wall Street Journal: In Texas A Battle Brews Over Voting By Mail Amid Coronavirus
Republicans and Democrats in Texas are locking horns over coronavirus-related efforts to expand voting by mail, with Republicans arguing it can fuel voter fraud and Democrats warning that disallowing it could harm turnout and sway results. The Texas Democratic Party has filed two lawsuits against state election officials and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to extend the state’s limited mail-in eligibility. A state district judge Wednesday afternoon said he would grant Democrats an injunction to allow Texans to vote by mail; state Republicans are expected to appeal. (Findell, 4/16)

The Associated Press: Top Infectious Disease Doctor Inspires ‘Fauci Fever’
A new condition related to the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping the United States: Fauci fever. After decades of renown in American medicine, Dr. Anthony Fauci has become an unlikely celebrity in his role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he has led the medical response to COVID-19 and tried to inform an anxious nation. (Reeves, 4/16)

The New York Times: Nancy Pelosi, Live From Her Kitchen, Works To Counter Trump’s Coronavirus Show 
Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn’t bother watching President Trump’s lengthy daily televised briefings on the coronavirus pandemic. “I don’t watch his shows,” she said in an interview Wednesday. “I don’t have time to watch him contradict himself from one day to the next.” Still Ms. Pelosi, who is now deprived of the official trappings of the Capitol with Congress in an extended virus-instigated recess, is trying to counter the president’s White House sessions with her own media blitz from her kitchen in San Francisco. (Stolberg, 4/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Reported U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Reach Record 4,591 In 24 Hours
The number of reported deaths in the U.S. from the new coronavirus spiked to nearly double the prior record Thursday, as governors extended their lockdown orders, and the Trump administration released new federal guidelines to reopen the economy. In the 24 hours ending at 8 p.m. Eastern time Thursday, 4,591 people were reported to have died from Covid-19, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. The prior record was 2,569 on Wednesday. The number of new reported U.S. cases, meanwhile, was roughly equal with that on Wednesday at 31,451. (Calfas, Purnell and Dalton, 4/17)

The Associated Press: Amid Talk Of Restarting Economy, Virus Keeps Killing In NYC
Hopeful talk about getting people out of their homes and back to work in some parts of the country seems a far cry from the harsh reality in New York and its suburbs: Thousands of people infected with the coronavirus are still streaming into hospitals every day. Hundreds are still dying. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted the lack of major improvement Thursday as he announced another 606 deaths in the state and said current social isolation rules will stay in place through at least May 15. The number dying was down from a day earlier, but remains alarmingly high. (Caruso, Hill and Sisak, 4/16)

Los Angeles Times: 55 New Coronavirus Deaths In L.A. County A Record High
Coronavirus-linked fatalities hit another one-day high in Los Angeles County on Thursday as health officials confirmed 55 additional deaths. The latest update — marking the third straight day the county has seen a record number of deaths — brought the county’s total to 455 and demonstrates “the devastating power of COVID-19,” Public Health Department Director Barbara Ferrer said. The county’s mortality rate now stands at 4.2%, she added. (Lin, Greene and Money, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Mass-Grave Burials On Hart Island In New York Rise Fivefold
Desolate Hart Island, a mile-long stretch of dirt off the Bronx, has taken New York City’s unclaimed dead for 151 years: Civil War soldiers, stillborn babies, the homeless and AIDS patients, who were confined to the island’s southernmost tip for fear that their little-understood virus might spread from their corpses. During the coronavirus pandemic, the mass-grave burials of indigent New Yorkers whose families could not be found or who could not afford a private funeral have quintupled, officials said, growing from an average of 25 per week to 120. (Yuan, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Which Deaths Count Toward The Covid-19 Death Toll? It Depends On The State.
In Alabama, officials have ruled that one of every 10 people who died with covid-19 did not die of covid-19. Among those excluded from the numbers reported to the federal government were a bedbound patient with aspiration pneumonia in one lung and a person with a buildup of fluid and partial collapse of one lung. Colorado, by contrast, has included some deaths where the disease caused by the novel coronavirus was deemed probable — based on symptoms and possible exposure — but not confirmed through a test. (Brown, Reinhard and Thebault, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Is Becoming America’s Leading Cause Of Death
In just weeks, covid-19 deaths have snowballed from a few isolated cases to thousands across the country each day. The U.S. surgeon general had warned that last week would be like Pearl Harbor as he attempted to create context for the threat — but it turned out that more than five times as many Americans died from covid-19 last week than were killed in the World War II raid. (Keating and Esteban, 4/16)

The Associated Press: Older Americans Get Chance To Join Virus Vaccine Study
A U.S. study of a potential COVID-19 vaccine is being expanded to include older adults, the age group most at risk from the new coronavirus. The shot, made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., is being tested in healthy young and middle-aged adults in Seattle and Atlanta. Moderna announced Thursday the study is expanding to include older adults, divided into two age groups — 51 to 70 and those over 70. (4/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Moderna Gets U.S. Funding For Development, Manufacturing Of Experimental Coronavirus Vaccine
Moderna Inc. said Thursday it reached an agreement to receive as much as $483 million in funding from a federal agency to accelerate the development and production of its closely watched experimental vaccine against the new coronavirus. The federal funding will cover advancing the vaccine through a series of studies to potential approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Loftus, 4/16)

Reuters: Report Says COVID-19 Patients Respond To Gilead’s Remdesivir, Shares Surge
Gilead Sciences Inc’s shares surged 16% in after hours trading on Thursday following a media report detailing encouraging partial data from trials of the U.S. company’s experimental drug remdesivir in severe COVID-19 patients. (4/16)

Stat: Gilead Data Suggests Coronavirus Patients Are Responding To Treatment
Remdesivir was one of the first medicines identified as having the potential to impact SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19, in lab tests. The entire world has been waiting for results from Gilead’s clinical trials, and positive results would likely lead to fast approvals by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies. If safe and effective, it could become the first approved treatment against the disease. The University of Chicago Medicine recruited 125 people with Covid-19 into Gilead’s two Phase 3 clinical trials. Of those people, 113 had severe disease. All the patients have been treated with daily infusions of remdesivir. (Feuerstein and Herper, 4/16)

Reuters: Exclusive: FDA May Have Dropped Standards Too Far In Hunt For Chloroquine To Fight Coronavirus – Sources
On March 21, two days after President Donald Trump first touted chloroquine drugs as a “gamechanger” in the fight against COVID-19, administration officials privately described what they felt was a “win” in the president’s efforts to build an emergency stockpile of the drugs: a hefty donation of pills from Bayer AG. (Eban, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Despite Trump’s Boosterism, There Is No Silver Bullet In The Pipeline Against Covid-19
The journey of EIDD-2801, from laboratory to the mouth of a human, unfolded with head-snapping speed. On March 23, a division of Emory University in Atlanta licensed the experimental drug to a Miami company owned by a wealthy hedge-fund manager and his wife. Just three weeks later, a pill was given to a person for the first time in a test of its safety, in Britain. (Rowland, 4/16)

The Hill: STD Antibiotic Faces Shortages After Trump Promotes It As Coronavirus Treatment 
A commonly prescribed antibiotic used to treat sexually transmitted infections and other conditions is facing a shortage after President Trump promoted it as a potential coronavirus treatment. Demand for azithromycin tablets — better known by its brand name Z-Pack — is soaring as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the U.S. (Hellmann, 4/16)

The Associated Press: Some People Turn To Herbal Medicine For Virus Without Proof
With no approved drugs for the new coronavirus, some people are turning to alternative medicines, often with governments promoting them. This is most evident in India and China, densely populated countries with a deep history and tradition of touting such treatments, and where there’s sometimes limited access to conventional medicine. (Ghosal and Wang, 4/17)

Politico: Trump Defends Drop In Commercial Lab Testing Amid Push To Reopen U.S.
President Donald Trump defended a sharp drop in commercial laboratory coronavirus testing as a positive development Thursday despite public health experts’ warnings that the U.S. needs millions of additional tests each week to safely reopen the country. “In recent days we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of tests performed by hospitals and academic institutions,” Trump said. “Some of the media falsely reported this as a bad thing when in fact it’s a great thing because it indicates that the states are moving to faster, more local testing solutions including on the spot tests.” (Lim, 4/16)

NPR: Next Generation Of COVID-19 Virus Tests Could Get Faster And Cheaper With CRISPR
Being able to test for coronavirus infections is a critical component to reopening society — even a little bit — after the initial wave of COVID-19. So there is an urgent need for faster, cheaper tests than the ones available at present. One approach to the next generation of tests is being developed by the University of California, San Francisco Medical School and Mammoth Biosciences. In a paper released Thursday in the journal Nature Biotechnology, researchers describe a test based on a new technology known as CRISPR. (Palca, 4/17)

ABC News: FEMA Faces Multi-Front Battle On COVID-19 As Hurricane Season Nears 
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, in charge of the federal response to novel coronavirus, is now orchestrating one of the most complex response efforts in its history while also staring down a new upcoming season of wildfires and hurricanes. The unprecedented undertaking raises serious questions about whether FEMA can meet both challenges and protect Americans vulnerable to disaster. (Vann, 4/16)

ProPublica: Congress Is Investigating Whether A Ventilator Company Is Gouging The U.S. — And Why The Government Is Letting It Happen
A congressional subcommittee is investigating whether the U.S. government is paying too much for ventilators made by a Dutch company that received millions in tax dollars to develop an affordable one for pandemics, but is now charging quadruple the price under a new deal. “This all seems very fishy to me,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who chairs the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy. The subcommittee falls under the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. (Callahan and Rotella, 4/16)

The New York Times: A Tiny Hospital Struggles To Treat A Burst Of Coronavirus Patients
Dr. Desmond Wah is used to being the only physician tending to patients during his shifts at Margaret Mary Community Hospital in Batesville, Ind., population 6,500, where at least half of the 25 beds are usually empty. But he was hardly prepared for the weeklong shift he started on March 20, when the two counties Batesville straddles became one of rural America’s worst coronavirus hot spots. By the end of the week, most of the hospital’s beds were filled with patients who had either tested positive for or were suspected of having the virus. Six were on ventilators, two of which had been lent hastily by a local emergency medical services unit. (Goodnough, 4/16)

The Wall Street Journal: China’s Export Restrictions Strand Medical Goods U.S. Needs To Fight Coronavirus, State Department Says
New Chinese export restrictions have left American companies’ U.S.-bound face masks, test kits and other medical equipment urgently needed to fight the coronavirus stranded, according to businesses and U.S. diplomatic memos. Large quantities of critical protective gear and other medical goods are sitting in warehouses across China unable to receive necessary official clearances, said some suppliers and brokers. (O’Keeffe, Lin and Xiao, 4/16)

The New York Times: Disposable N95 Masks Can Be Decontaminated, Researchers Confirm
Researchers have confirmed that there are several effective methods for decontaminating the N95 masks worn by health professionals so that they can be used more than once, the National Institutes of Health announced Wednesday. A substantial body of research already showed that the masks, designed for one-time use, can be reused in a crisis. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March authorized reuse because of shortages driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. (Gorman, 4/16)

The Wall Street Journal: House Democrats Call For Answers On VA’s Mask Supplies
A group of House Democrats sent the White House a letter Thursday calling for greater transparency from the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding supplies of protective equipment at VA facilities during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the letter, which was made public. Rep. Mark Takano (D., Calif.), the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, wrote to Vice President Mike Pence and the head of the Office of Management and Budget requesting the timely release of information about how the VA is managing its supplies of things like N95 masks, alleging that the White House is holding up release of the data, according to the letter. (Kesling, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Health Care Workers Stay At Hotels And Clean Meticulously To Avoid Infecting Their Families With Coronavirus
After long shifts treating covid-19 patients in New York hospitals, emergency room doctor Calvin D. Sun goes home and works for another 45 minutes. He cleans. He peels off his shoes, scrubs his jacket and places his protective suit outdoors to bake in the sun. Finally, he takes a shower, hot and scouring, to eliminate any microbes that could cling to his body like invisible thorns. This new homework is as stressful as it is tedious. (Guarino, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Inova Bans Workers Treating Covid-19 Patients From Wearing Their Own PPE
Inova, which operates Northern Virginia’s largest hospital, has prohibited employees treating covid-19 patients from wearing N95 respirator masks that they bring from home, despite national shortages of the protective equipment and workers’ concerns about contracting the virus. In a statement, an Inova spokeswoman said the health-care system’s procedures ensure only “hospital-grade, quality-assured products” are available to workers and that it cannot guarantee that personal protection equipment obtained elsewhere will prevent exposure. (Portnoy, 4/16)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Nursing Home Deaths: 29, Or More, Dead At One Facility 
Berna Lee got the call from the nursing home in Queens on April 3: Her mother had a fever, nothing serious. She was assured that there were no cases of coronavirus in the home. Then she started calling workers there. “One said, ‘Girl, let me tell you, it’s crazy here,’” Ms. Lee said. “‘Six people died today.’” In a panic, Ms. Lee drove from her home in Rhode Island to the nursing home, beginning a two-week scramble for information, as workers at the facility, Sapphire Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing of Central Queens, told her privately that many residents had died, and that most of the home’s leadership was out sick or in quarantine. (Leland, Harris and Tully, 4/16)

Reuters: ‘Makeshift Morgue’ At New Jersey Nursing Home Sparks Broader Coronavirus Probe
New Jersey’s governor on Thursday ordered a probe into long-term care facilities after a “makeshift morgue” was found at a nursing home devastated by the novel coronavirus, raising questions about the death toll at homes for the elderly. (Layne and Resnick-Ault, 4/16)

Politico: Snubs, Feuds And Phone Tag: Inside Congress’ Coronavirus Breakdown
For Congress, the coronavirus pandemic changed everything — except the personality feuds that have defined the institution in the Trump era. Instead of congressional leaders and President Donald Trump rallying to take on a virus that’s crushing the economy and killing tens of thousands of Americans, the opposite has happened. The partisan sniping and long simmering squabbles among the White House and “Big Four” — Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — are more prominent than ever. (Caygle, Everett and Zanona, 4/17)

The Associated Press: New Pressure On Lawmakers As Virus Aid For Firms Hits Limit
Lawmakers are struggling to break a stalemate over President Donald Trump’s $250 billion emergency request for a small-business program, stoking uncertainty about when additional support will be available in a key rescue program now exhausted of funds. A Senate session quickly adjourned without any progress, though staff aides to House and Senate Democrats and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin convened another conference call, on legislation to shore up the Paycheck Protection Program and demands by Democrats for potential additions. (Taylor, 4/17)

The New York Times: Loan Money Runs Out While Small-Business Owners Wait In Line
The $349 billion government program meant to keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic and economic meltdown ran out of money on Thursday — even as many small-business owners were desperately trying to apply for loans. Now they are trying to figure out how to keep their businesses alive while Congress negotiates the possible release of additional rescue funds. The program, administered by the Small Business Administration through participating banks, was marred by technical glitches from the start, even as overwhelming demand and confusion about how it would all work slowed down the approval process. (Flitter, 4/16)

The Associated Press: As $2 Trillion Starts To Flow, Oversight Of Virus Cash Lags
Congress unleashed $2 trillion to deal with the coronavirus crisis. So far, only one person is working to oversee how it is spent. Bharat Ramamurti is starting out as a watchdog of one, the sole appointee to a five-member Congressional Oversight Commission. Sheltering at home with preschoolers, Ramamurti has been writing letters and taking to Twitter to try and jump-start his work, asking the Trump administration for “detailed and timely information” about coronavirus payments. But he’s eager for reinforcements. (Jalonick and Daly, 4/17)

Politico: Economic Rescue Package To Boost Deficit By $1.8T, CBO Predicts
The colossal economic rescue package passed by Congress last month amid the pandemic will increase federal deficits by $1.8 trillion over a decade, although the overall bill provides more than $2 trillion in assistance, the Congressional Budget office estimated Thursday. The independent budget agency noted that some of the aid is in form of loan guarantees, which won’t have a net effect on the federal budget. The package includes a $988 billion increase in mandatory spending and a $326 billion increase in emergency discretionary spending. It decreases revenues by $446 billion. (Emma, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Hospital Relief Money Slow To Reach Places That Need It Most, Lawmakers And Industry Groups Say
The $100 billion Congress allocated for hospitals and health-care providers in its $2 trillion coronavirus rescue bill has been slow to go out and has shortchanged some of the places that need it most, lawmakers and industry groups say. They also say the total sum is woefully inadequate to address the needs created by the virus, which has overwhelmed big-city hospitals even as some providers have experienced a precipitous loss in revenue from elective procedures that has forced them to lay people off in the middle of a raging pandemic. (Werner, Harris and Goldstein, 4/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Industry In Tug-Of-War Over Coronavirus Aid
Now, hospitals and doctors in hot spots say they should be the primary beneficiaries of the remaining $70 billion. “Quite simply, funding should follow the Covid-19 patients,” Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, a trade group for New York hospitals, said in a letter to members this week. But elsewhere, health-care providers say their need is also dire as revenue evaporates. “Rural health care was in a state of crisis before this pandemic,” said Dr. Susan Turney, chief executive of the Marshfield Clinic Health System in Marshfield, Wis. “With everything we’re facing right now, we really need to have funding that will stabilize our health system, so we can continue to survive.” (Evans and Armour, 4/16)

Roll Call: Second Round Of Emergency Medical Provider Funds Delayed
A second wave of emergency funds that Congress directed to medical providers appears to be delayed, after Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told the House Appropriations Committee the distributions could take another week and a half to calculate. Azar’s projection follows Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma’s remarks to reporters Wednesday that the second batch would be distributed this week. Verma declined to share specifics on what formula the department is using to divvy up the funds. (Clason, 4/16)