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President Joe Biden said his top experts anticipate COVID-19 cases to increase in the weeks and months ahead as the omicron variant is likely to spread throughout the United States this winter, so he called on Americans to defend the nation with a unified front. “This is a point to get the nation to come together, to unite the nation in a common purpose … and to think of it in terms of literally a patriotic responsibility rather than somehow you're denying people their basic rights,” Biden said Thursday during a visit to the National Institutes of Health. (McIntire and Cohen, 12/2)

The Biden administration on Thursday extended a requirement that people wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses and other modes of transportation through March 18. The extension of the federal mask mandate, which had been set to expire next month, is one of a series of actions the White House announced aimed at allaying concerns about the emergence of the new omicron variant. The U.S. reported its first case of the variant Wednesday. (Aratani, 12/2)

President Biden on Thursday announced plans to tighten up Covid-19 testing timelines for travelers entering the U.S. and extend a mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation as part of a broad administration effort to combat the Omicron variant. International travelers coming to the U.S. will have to test within a day of departure, regardless of vaccination status, rather than the 72 hours currently required for vaccinated travelers, Mr. Biden said. The new testing rules will take effect on Monday, Dec. 6, at 12:01 a.m. ET, according to a senior administration official who said airline industry representatives were notified of the timing Thursday. The requirements apply both to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals flying into the country. (Armour and Siddiqui, 12/2)

President Joe Biden announced a new strategy Thursday aimed at fighting a potential winter surge of Covid-19 without enacting unpopular lockdowns as the pandemic approaches its two-year mark. Biden's multi-pronged approach puts a heavy emphasis on expanding vaccinations to the remaining Americans who have resisted getting shots, and to provide boosters to the now-eligible population of all adults. He's also changing rules on international travel to require tests closer to arrival in the United States, and requiring insurance companies to pay for at-home tests. (Liptak and Judd, 12/2)

The Biden administration today said it would soon require private health insurers to cover the cost of at-home Covid-19 tests as part of an effort to tamp down infections during the winter months. The new policy means that the more than 150 million Americans with private coverage will be able to get reimbursed for the rapid tests as long as they submit their expenses for reimbursement. (Lim and Cancryn, 12/2)

After a primary focus on vaccination, the White House announced on Thursday that private health insurers would soon have to reimburse patients for such tests. It also said it would make 50 million free tests available for uninsured Americans, to be distributed through health clinics and other sites in rural and underserved communities. But for consumers who do have insurance, the White House approach will require some legwork. It left some health policy experts questioning why the United States does not purchase tests on behalf of all Americans and provide them at little to no cost, as some European countries have done. Instead, Americans will have to purchase tests and then submit the receipts for reimbursement. (Kliff and Abelson, 12/2)

President Biden, confronting a worrisome new coronavirus variant and a potential winter surge, laid out a pandemic strategy on Thursday that includes hundreds of vaccination sites, boosters for all adults, new testing requirements for international travelers and free at-home tests. After nearly a year of pushing vaccination as the way out of the pandemic, Mr. Biden has been unable to overcome resistance to the shots in red states and rural areas. His new strategy shifts away from a near-singular focus on vaccination and places a fresh emphasis on testing — a tacit acknowledgment by the White House that vaccination is not enough to end the worst public health crisis in a century. (Gay Stolberg, 12/2)

President Joe Biden looked out over an audience of government scientists and framed his latest plan for fighting COVID-19 as an opportunity to at last put an end to divisiveness over the virus, calling the politicization of the issue a “sad, sad commentary.” And then he tacked on a political dig. Some people “on the other team,” he said Thursday, were threatening to hold up government spending and endangering the nation’s credit out of pique over vaccination requirements. “Go figure,” he added. (Miller, 12/3)

Robert Califf, President Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, has asked Janet Woodcock, who has served as the FDA’s acting commissioner for the last 11 months, to stay on in a leadership role at the agency should he be confirmed by the Senate, two sources with knowledge of the discussion confirmed to STAT. It’s still not clear exactly what Woodcock’s role would be or how she would split responsibilities with Califf, should she accept his offer. The most obvious role would be principal deputy commissioner, a position that amounts to second-in-charge at the agency and has been vacant since Amy Abernethy left it in April. (Florko, 12/2)

KHN: A Tale Of Two Medicaid Expansions: Oklahoma Jumps In, While Missouri Lags

Temp worker James Dickerson applied for Medicaid because it will be cheaper than his current health plan. Home health aide Sharon Coleman looks forward to having coverage that will cover a hospital stay. Incoming medical student Danielle Gaddis no longer worries a trip to the doctor will leave her in debt. All three are among the roughly 490,000 people newly eligible for Medicaid after Oklahoma and Missouri voters in 2020 approved expanding the federal-state public health insurance program for people with low incomes. In both states, people who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level — about $18,000 per year for an individual — can now get the free coverage even if they don’t have disabilities. (Bram Sable-Smith, 12/3)