Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images
Thermo Fisher is acquiring Qiagen, a company that makes lab equipment and diagnostic tests, for $10.1 billion plus the assumption of $1.4 billion of debt.
Why it matters: This is the largest health care transaction so far in 2020. It's also especially relevant because Qiagen makes a testing kit that detects the new coronavirus strain.
A medical assistant demonstrating a COVID-19 test. Photo: Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Diagnostic testing for the coronavirus is threatened yet again, this time by a shortage of critical lab materials, Politico reports.
Why it matters: The testing capabilities in the U.S. are still grossly behind those of other countries. This latest problem could set us even further back, allowing the coronavirus to continue to spread undetected through communities.
A health care worker at Carroll Hospital prepares to take samples from a person being tested for the coronavirus at a drive-thru station in the hospital's parking garag in Westminster, Maryland. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
We're still not where we need to be, but America's coronavirus testing situation is getting better after major commercial laboratories have jumped in.
The big picture: "We expect more...than 1 million coming on board this week," Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, told reporters yesterday.
Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty Images
Both health insurers and regulators are working to make sure that coronavirus diagnostic tests will be covered — but that doesn't necessarily mean coronavirus treatment will be affordable.
Driving the news: California, New York and Washington state have announced that health plans are required to cover the diagnostic tests and the associated provider visit, without cost sharing.