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COVID-19 patients hospitalized in 2021 could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in bills  for hospital, physician, and paramedic care after insurance companies started charging members for these costs again, an analysis of 2020 US data today in JAMA Network Open suggests. In 2020, most health insurers voluntarily waived copays, deductibles, and other cost sharing for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but many did away with those waivers in early 2021. (Van Beusekom, 10/18)

While most COVID-19 hospitalizations don't leave patients with out-of-pocket charges, approximately one in 20 commercially insured or Medicare Advantage patients will rack up thousands of dollars in bills, according to a new study. In an analysis of 4,300 COVID-19 hospitalizations, 4.6% of privately insured patients were billed an average of $3,800 stemming from "facility" services charged by hospitals between March and September 2020, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Network Open. Approximately 1.3% of Medicare Advantage patients saw bills of more than $1,500. The research shines a light on the huge health cost burden facing Americans as most cost-sharing waivers from insurers come to an end. (Ross Johnson, 10/18)

Roughly a quarter of the way through the current school year and Indiana has already topped last school year's total number of COVID-19 cases reported among the state's K-12 students. The number of newly reported cases in students dropped for the sixth straight week and was likely depressed by the fall break, which many schools started last week, but still pushed the school year-to-date total above the total number reported last school year. (Herron, 10/18)

At least three Montana school districts are taking advantage of a two-day school break for statewide educator conferences this week to hold remote classes or close for a few days to help prevent further cases of COVID-19. The Darby school district also announced it was switching to remote learning on Tuesday and Wednesday due to staff shortages. (10/18)

Carroll County’s health officer and school superintendent have proposed that students use take-home COVID-19 tests when they are in quarantine. County health officer Ed Singer said the idea is to have students take the test on day five and seven of quarantine, and then allow them to return to school if both tests are negative. He said the Maryland Department of Health is working to get testing kits. (Griffith, 10/19)

KHN: Children With Disabilities Face Special Back-To-School Challenges 

Christopher Manzo, a boy with curly brown hair and bright-blue-and-yellow glasses, has lived a third of his five years at home because of the pandemic. nd he is more than ready for kindergarten. Hand in hand with his mother, Martha Manzo, he walks into the Blind Children’s Center, a low-rise building nestled among apartment complexes in East Hollywood. In the brightly colored hallway, filled with paintings of animals, Manzo kneels to hug Christopher before he scurries unsteadily to his cubby. “God take care of you and be with you,” she says. “And have fun.” (de Marco, 10/19)

New Mexico on Monday cleared the way for hospitals to ration care if necessary, saying the state’s health care system has yet to see a reprieve as the nursing shortage continues and as many patients with non-COVID-19 illnesses and those who have delayed care over the last year are now filling hospital beds. Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said hospitals already have been juggling patients with fewer resources since the pandemic began, and the order he signed sets up an “equitable procedure” for making tough decisions. (Bryan, 10/18)

For a small, rural hospital in Louisiana, the COVID-19 pandemic brought new strains on the workforce. With the delta wave, clinicians intubated patients sometimes two or three times per week or even per day, said Mary Ellen Pratt, CEO of St. James Parish Hospital, a critical-access hospital in Lutcher, Louisiana, about 35 miles from New Orleans. Before the pandemic, maybe one person per month needed intubation. Medical professionals have decided to retire early, take breaks from the field or leave the business completely as the stresses of the past 19 months weighed on them. That in turn puts pressure on the employees who remain, who are already working long hours to deal with a surge driven in large part by people who aren’t vaccinated. Her hospital is about 20% short on nursing staff, Pratt said. (Hellmann, 10/19)

Guitarist Chuck Beckman was inspired to pursue a career in live therapeutic music for hospital patients after he played at the bedside of a dying friend. His goal, he says, “was to play for patients in the last moments of their lives.” And he founded a program to do just that at Northeast Georgia Health System’s Gainesville hospital two years ago. But the music stopped at the start of the pandemic. Beckman and his fellow therapeutic musicians could no longer play their instruments at patients’ bedsides because of the infection risk. (Grapevine, 10/18)