Supply Chain

The Federal Emergency Management Agency may no longer provide reimbursements to states and local governments for personal protective equipment and other COVID-19 supplies, The Hill reported. 

CMS will now require nursing homes to regularly test their staff for COVID-19 and offer testing to residents when there is an outbreak or if residents show symptoms. 

The total value of medical devicemaker merger and acquisition deals announced in the first half of 2020 was about $16 billion, a figure much lower than average, according to EvaluatePharma's "Pharma, Biotech & Medtech Half-Year Review 2020."

When it comes to lowering shipping costs, there is a general three-step plan that has proven to be successful for health systems of all sizes: 

Billions of dollars HHS designated to boost national COVID-19 testing have yet to be spent months after Congress allocated $25 billion for federal agencies and states, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

More than 1 in 5 nursing homes have reported severe shortages of both staff and personal protective equipment since the start of the pandemic, according to a new study published Aug. 20 in Health Affairs. 

HHS has blocked the FDA from regulating many laboratory tests on the market in a move that some public health experts say could lead to unreliable COVID-19 tests. 

Bayer said Aug. 20 that it will pay $1.6 billion to resolve the majority of claims against its permanent birth control device, Essure, which thousands of women have claimed caused adverse effects including bleeding, pain, miscarriages and fetal deaths. 

Ten hospitals and health systems posted job listings for supply chain expertise in the last week:

Georgia officials knew of severe shortages of personal protective equipment before Gov. Brian Kemp announced that the state would begin reopening its economy, according to documents obtained by Kaiser Health News.