Seven key federal healthcare updates in the last two weeks:
1. The White House unveiled a new strategy to combat the coronavirus by encouraging booster shots and helping states respond quickly to winter surges.
2. Amid rising concern about the new COVID-19 variant, omicron, the U.S. is tightening borders and limiting travel from eight countries — including South Africa, where the variant was first detected. The variant has spread to at least 19 countries.
3. HHS began distributing $7.5 billion in payments to rural healthcare providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. The Biden administration is investing $1.5 billion from the COVID-19 aid package to address healthcare workforce shortages in underserved communities.
5. As part of a larger plan to prevent the spread of COVID-19 this winter, President Joe Biden announced that private insurers must begin to cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests.
6. CMS released final guidance clarifying how hospitals may organize shared spaces, services and personnel to meet regulatory requirements.
7. Federal judges in Kentucky and Louisiana issued preliminary injunctions Nov. 30 to halt the start of COVID-19 vaccination mandates for millions of workers across the U.S.