The White House and Senate have reached a deal for a stimulus package worth about $2 trillion, with help coming to hospitals and healthcare providers dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak.

Kaiser Permanente, the nonprofit health system based in California, has canceled its plans to build new headquarters expected to cost $900 million.

Health insurance giant Cigna has expanded its collaboration with Cricket Health, a kidney care provider, to use a machine learning algorithm that identifies Cigna customers with or at risk for developing late-stage chronic kidney disease. Cigna is a major investor in Cricket Health, committing $24 million in a Series A funding round in 2018.

Eleven more states are following the lead of Florida and Washington in applying for Section 1135 Medicaid waivers to be granted more flexibility in dealing with the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19.

A patient who sought treatment for coronavirus symptoms in late February was left with a medical bill of $34,927.43 for testing and treatment.

CMS is providing exceptions from Medicare reporting requirements as well as extensions for clinicians and providers in Medicare quality reporting programs and data submission as the nation’s healthcare providers deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The state of Washington is the second states to receive an approved Section 1135 Medicaid waiver from CMS to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the new coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to spread across the globe and the number of infections in the U.S. rises daily, healthcare industry groups are continuing to ramp up recommendations, guidance and pressure on policymakers and regulators to ensure healthcare providers are able to respond swiftly to the crisis with flexibility.