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The Canada Revenue Agency is opening up its snitch line to tips about fraud in COVID-19 federal aid programs amid reports of illicit applications and double dipping...Canada Revenue Agency says its National Leads Program — a.k.a. its snitch line — is now accepting information regarding the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)...“If you suspect a potential misuse of the COVID-19 emergency benefits and programs, the National Leads Centre is currently accepting leads on these programs,”...the agency says it’s looking for information regarding people who are receiving either CERB or CESB who are ineligible, or businesses or charities that are “misusing” the wage subsidy program...READ MORE

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored key weaknesses in the biopharma industry’s complex global supply chain, and now a top adviser for the Trump administration is calling on Congress to push for more manufacturing in Puerto Rico...White House trade adviser Peter Navarro faulted a “broken system” that pushes manufacturing offshore. He called on Congress to use the next round of COVID-19 relief to incentivize manufacturing on the island territory...Previously, a tax provision allowed U.S. companies to avoid paying federal taxes on profits from operations in Puerto Rico, but Congress phased that out over time...Plus, utility costs are significantly higher there than in the U.S., which has also led to a reduction in manufacturing. Pharma companies themselves have shuttered a number of drug plants in Puerto Rico in recent years...READ MORE

With the sudden financial hardship—such as sharp declines in revenues and cash flow due to the cancellation of elective procedures because of the COVID-19 pandemic—a greater number of health systems may fall short of agreements tied to their borrowing compared to prior years...As Moody's Investors Service analysts explain in a report released this week, more hospitals are likely to experience a "technical default," meaning they have not met required covenants connected to their borrowing agreements such as maintaining certain debt service coverage and days cash on hand...Hospitals' revenues have declined by an average of 30% to 40%...READ MORE

Gov. Steve Sisolak announced casinos could reopen June 4. Then the Nevada Gaming Control Board updated its health and safety policy, which outlines requirements aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. Gaming companies quickly followed suit and unveiled which of their properties would be reopening along with some of the steps they’re taking to protect both workers and guests...But the process hasn’t appeased the powerful Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which represents roughly 60,000 employees who work in casinos-resort properties as guest room attendants, cooks, porters, baristas, bartenders and cashiers, among other roles...READ MORE

The U.S. government...entered into a $628 million contract with drugmaker Emergent BioSolutions to boost manufacturing capacity for a potential COVID-19 vaccine...As drugmakers capacity here in America for candidates that make it to the final stages of Operation Warp Speed will help get a vaccine to American patients without a day wasted,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement...The HHS task order with Emergent falls under an existing contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority...Under the contract, Emergent will commit its manufacturing facilities, valued at $542.7 million, to produce COVID-19 vaccine candidates through 2021...READ MORE

The novel COVID-19 virus has now infiltrated our communities on a global scale, forcing pharmacies to quickly adapt in order to sustain operations in the new normal...pharmacies everywhere are experiencing a dramatic influx in demand, but dwindling supply of resources and staffing...in a world increasingly influenced by technology, there is ample opportunity to leverage automation within pharmacies that can not only improve operations and maximize efficiency, but support patient wellness while growing their business and profits...

Adherence Pouch Packaging
- unit-of-use packaging alone saved more than 46.5 minutes per 100 prescriptions filled compared to count-and-pour dispensing.

Medication Synchronization and Adherence
- pharmacies can adopt medication synchronization, meaning all of a patient’s prescriptions are synchronized to be refilled on the exact same day of the month, eliminating the need for separate call-ins and pickups...READ MORE

Amid worldwide clamor for Covid-19 medicines and vaccines, the European Medicines Agency is being urged by several international clinical evidence experts...to publish all trial data on the same day any product is authorized for use against the novel coronavirus...In a letter to the European regulator, four country directors from the independent watchdog Cochrane and leaders from Germany’s Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care argued that it is critical to promptly release clinical study reports to support further research and proper medical care. The reports are go-to documents that contain myriad details about the methods and results of a clinical trial...READ MORE

Pharma’s reputation is holding strong these days, the latest Harris Poll survey shows. That’s good news again for the industry—but why the change?...The Harris Poll asked Americans that question. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 crisis is the reason...Seventy percent told the market researcher that the industry’s overall response to the pandemic is the main reason for their more positive feelings. Efforts to develop a vaccine (58%), develop or find treatments (56%), create diagnostic tests (56%) and protect medical professionals by providing masks and protective gear (46%) also rated as key reasons perceptions have changed...READ MORE

Major health groups raised alarm following the announcement Friday by President Donald Trump that the U.S. is terminating its relationship with the World Health Organization...Trump previously said he would cut funding to WHO, a United Nations agency that helps promote global health initiatives including addressing disease outbreaks. He said WHO has not pushed for accountability over its handling of the virus that is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China. He has also previously said WHO was slow to act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic...But organizations such as the American Medical Association and the Infectious Diseases Society of America condemned the move, saying it will make the work of fighting the global pandemic "dramatically more challenging."...READ MORE

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has touted open government as a crucial aspect to the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. “You deserve transparency,” he proclaimed during an April 8 news conference, a statement reflecting the Nevada Public Records Act’s promise of open access to most government documents...But records vital to evaluating how Sisolak’s administration and state agencies have navigated the unprecedented emergency have proved difficult to obtain...Even a simple request for daily reports on hospital capacity made in early April, which would have spanned only a few pages at the time, was met with a response from a senior policy analyst in Sisolak’s office to wait “eight to 10 weeks” to receive the record...Among the requested documents that state agencies have delayed in producing or denied access to are the following:

■ Emergency management plans related to disease outbreaks or widespread health emergencies. Officials took more than 40 days to deny the request.

■ Documents tracking testing of prison inmates and staff for COVID-19. Denied by officials after 13 days.

■ Written communications among top prison officials about COVID-19 testing. Officials said they would respond “in the next 45 days.”

■ Records related to Nevada’s government stockpile of personal protective gear for medical workers. Officials said it will take “eight to ten weeks or longer” to compile the documents....READ MORE