CMS on Friday (April 3) provided further guidance to ambulatory surgical centers that wish to take advantage of new regulatory flexibility in Medicare allowing them to enroll and bill as hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) issued an executive order preventing surprise medical bills for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.

Hospitals are asking CMS to waive or lower the interest on advanced payments that providers request under the Medicare accelerated pay program, but the agency says it doesn’t have the authority to waive or change the interest rate on Medicare debts -- including those repayments.

Tens of millions of serology tests, which analyze blood samples for antibodies to COVID-19, could be available in the United States by May, if the currently available tests are validated, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said during a White House press briefing Monday (April 6).

Scott Gottlieb, the president’s outspoken former FDA commissioner, is joining the coronavirus response team of Larry Hogan, the outspoken Republican governor of Maryland, according to Tuesday morning (April 7) tweets from the two.

Former FDA chiefs Scott Gottlieb and Mark McClellan are pushing for the government to implement a national surveillance system for COVID-19.

The Trump administration slammed an HHS Office of Inspector General report released Monday (April 6) that found hospitals are facing significant challenges with medical supplies, protective gear and COVID-19 testing.

The country’s second COVID-19 stimulus law, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, will increase the federal deficit by $192 billion through 2030, mostly over the next two years, and the largest health-related expenditure is due to the increased federal match rate for Medicaid that doesn’t account for increased enrollment during the downturn, according to an initial estimate from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation.