Read on Twitter
Catching up on all the crazy stuff my colleagues have been digging into this week. Like this dissection of the way the White House is steering huge no-bid contracts for COVID-19 response outside the normal procurement channels and won't explain why or how: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-white-house-pushed-fema-to-give-its-biggest-coronavirus-contract-to-a-company-that-never-had-to-bid
More ER staffing companies owned by private equity billionaires are cutting pay for healthcare workers and now want bailout money separate and apart from the money flowing to hospitals, by @iarnsdorf https://www.propublica.org/article/medical-staffing-companies-owned-by-rich-investors-cut-doctor-pay-and-now-want-bailout-money
The city of Laredo was so desperate for COVID-19 test kits that it jumped on an offer to get in on a shipment from China -- with the help of @RepCuellar -- that turned out to not be authorized by the FDA and were then seized by DHS, by @JinATX https://www.propublica.org/article/he-spent--500-000-to-buy-coronavirus-tests-health-officials-say-theyre-unreliable
(Not that FDA authorization means what it used to mean, as @CarolineYLChen and I reported yesterday: https://www.propublica.org/article/coronavirus-tests-are-being-fast-tracked-by-the-fda-but-its-unclear-how-accurate-they-are )
Thin staffing and PPE rationing are weakening the responsiveness of NYC hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, resulting in more deaths being discovered in the morning when more nurses clock in: https://www.propublica.org/article/rationing-protective-gear-means-checking-on-coronavirus-patients-less-often-this-can-be-deadly
