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We turn first to The New York Times “The State of the Virus” for April 12, 2021, which offers the following:

  • The country is averaging around 70,000 new cases each day, up somewhat from mid-March but about the same as in late February, when a period of rapid improvement ended.
  • Around 730 coronavirus deaths are being announced every day, the fewest since October.
  • Michigan continues to add cases at the country’s highest rate. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has pressed unsuccessfully for extra vaccines, has so far resisted calling for a new lockdown.
  • As of Monday, 16 of the country’s 17 metro areas with the highest recent case rates were in Michigan.
  • Infection levels are stabilizing in much of the Northeast. New Jersey and New York are showing signs of improvement after difficult starts to the spring.
  • The pace of vaccination continues to increase. About 3.1 million people are receiving a shot every day. By next week, every adult will be eligible.



Michigan is cited above in two of the NY Times "State of the Virus" bullet points, both of which have links to important articles. Additonally, CNN tells us “Michigan could see its worst Covid-19 case surge yet, official warns. Some say more measures are needed” and local TV station WXYZ offer us “Doctors on reasons behind Michigan's Covid surge, why masks still important for those now vaccinated.”

On Tuesday the press and airwaves were filled with the news that the “FDA recommends pausing J&J Covid vaccine after 6 reported cases of blood clots;” we link to AXIOS for reporting on that.

Perhaps it is the effectiveness of the the U.S. vaccination effort or our need to make political everything that the other side implements effectively that created a controversy over some or any form of a U.S. vaccination “passport” – so we turn to The Los Angeles Times’ superb summary of that issue “Q&A: What are vaccine passports, and why do some people hate them so much?”

Thanks to provider expert-friend Mike Low and others we became aware of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, which takes “a deep dive into the United States’ complicated system of long-term care for the elderly.” We take you to the Slate summary on the show with a link to the show.

Skilled Nursing News provides a trio of articles, which brilliantly examine the complex topic: “As the federal government’s approach toward nursing homes and COVID-19 continues to shift from emergency support to reflection and reform, analysts are increasingly warning that the Coronavirus-era gravy train could soon come to an abrupt stop.” Reporters Maggie Flynn and Alex Spanko look at how revitalized regulatory enforcement programs, changes in CMS Reimbursement, and the expansion of home and community care will all bring fewer dollars and residents into skilled and assisted living settings.  

From on the road visiting Berkeley-Oakland, Calif., Eugene, Oregon, and virtually visiting our locked-down-yet-vaccinated Chelsea, Michigan office, and newsrooms across the world, this is Revitalize for April 15, 2021: 
Revitalize: The week in health-care news you need
Michigan could see its worst Covid-19 case surge yet, official warns. Some say more measures are needed.

Doctors on reasons behind Michigan's COVID surge, why masks still important for those now vaccinated.

"We're still having people who, unfortunately, are passing away from this disease every day and to us, it's very clear, because it never stopped," said Dr. Justin Skrzynski of Beaumont Health in Royal Oak where he says the average patient hospitalized with COVID-19 is in their 40s.

FDA recommends pausing J&J COVID vaccine after 6 reported cases of blood clots.

Q&A: What are vaccine passports, and why do some people hate them so much?

They explain what vaccine passports are, how they work, where they've been implemented, and why some people object to them.

Take a deep dive into the United States’ complicated system of long-term care for the elderly. Spoiler alert: We’re doing a terrible job of things, except when it comes to the wealthy, who are fine.

As John Oliver explains, if you can afford it, you can look forward to spending your retirement surrounded by Italian marble and tacky designer plates. If you’re not rich, however, you just have to hope you don’t end up in the kind of facility that prescribes unnecessary treatments to defraud Medicare.
Infection control immediate jeopardy citations tripled in 2020 – and nursing homes should expect even more. In the days before the full onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. in 2020, the federal government announced that it was reorienting all nursing home inspections to focus on infection control. The announcement on March 4 directed all inspections of skilled nursing facilities to focus on compliance. And drawing on a prior interview, none other than Revitalize's Jerry Seelig reminds the SNN readership  “we’re going to have a shock when we start to see regular surveying of these facilities.”

PDPM adjustments, smaller Medicare raise show CMS ready to pull back on Covid aid to nursing homes. As the federal government’s approach toward nursing homes and Covid-19 continues to shift from emergency support to reflection and reform, analysts are increasingly warning that the Coronavirus-era gravy train could come to an abrupt stop. In particular, the past week has brought three news reports that may bring trouble for operators.

CMS to adjust PDPM as quickly as possible amid evidence of $1.7 billion nursing home payment increase. The federal government is mulling several options to recalibrate the Medicare payment structure for skilled nursing facilities as it seeks to achieve its intended goal of budget neutrality – with the aim of shutting off excess payments soon. 
Jerry Seelig, CEO
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