Week in Washington is brought to you by Michael Cohen, PhD. Tune in each week to read the latest on healthcare policy and get a glimpse of what’s on the horizon.
Week in Washington
4/9/2018
Overall COVID News
COVID cases and deaths continued to increase this week. According to the CDC, COVID is now the leading cause of death in the United States.
IHME Model
One of the bright spots has been the predictions of the oft-cited IHME (Washington) model, which revised its overall number of deaths and infections down significantly this week. The model projects number of deaths in the US peaking on Sunday. Dr. Facui was also quoted as saying the epidemic may be peaking in New York, which would align with the IHME model.
Employment News
Employment conditions continued to deteriorate this week with an additional 6.6 million Americans filing for unemployment. The current unemployment could be around 13%-14%, which would be the worst since the Great Depression. USA Today has some good state level considerations.
Deferred Care
More evidence is growing that not only are Americans delaying (or not using) non-essential care but essential care is also being infected. An article in the NY Times discloses that many individuals with heart attacks or strokes are also no longer being treated at hospitals. This effect could have substantial implications, not only for thinking about the present effect for the virus, but also long-term health and cost implications.
Previous editions:
4/2/2020: Grim News
3/26/2020: Latest on COVID-19
3/19/2020: Latest on the Coronavirus
3/13/2020: Coronavirus Latest
3/6/2020: Coronavirus, Supreme Court, and More
2/28/2020: Coronavirus Tops Health News
2/21/2020: Medicaid Day in Court
2/14/2020: ACA Case Updates, New Regulations, and More