Novavax on Tuesday said its cash flow can currently support its short-term operations, but it has "substantial doubt" about its ability to remain in business long term, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Iowa, and Maryland.

• District of Columbia: New estimates from GUHPI found that nearly 7 million children and teens could lose their health coverage with the PHE ends. In April, states will start redetermining Medicaid eligibility as the pandemic-era coverage requirements start to expire and federal funding runs out. By spring of 2024, states will be required to redetermine eligibility for over 83 million people, including 34.2 million children. Currently, 54% of children and teens are covered under Medicaid or CHIP. According to federal estimates, 70% of eligible children risk dropped from program rolls. Currently, 17 states do not have continuous coverage protections for children, which likely increases the chance that eligible kids will lose coverage. (Dreher, Axios, 2/27)

• Iowa: MercyOne and Genesis Health System on Wednesday finalized their merger. In September, MercyOne, which is part of Trinity Health, and Genesis signed a letter of intent to merge. Under the deal, five Genesis hospitals and other operations will combine with MercyOne, which is comprised of 18 hospitals. According to MercyOne president and CEO Bob Ritz, the combined health system has no plans to lay off employees or cut services. However, Genesis will spin off one of its two philanthropic arms under the deal. Genesis Philanthropy will operate under a new name, the Better Health Foundation, and Genesis Health Services Foundation will be integrated into the new organization. (Kacik, Modern Healthcare, 3/1)

• Maryland: Novavax on Tuesday said it has "substantial doubt" about its ability to remain in business long term. The company said its cash flow can currently support its short-term operations, but it feels "significant uncertainty" about its 2023 revenue, government funding, and ongoing arbitration. Last summer, the company's COVID-19 vaccine gained FDA authorization and earned CDC's endorsement, but waning demand for COVID-19 vaccines, raw material shortages, and manufacturing setbacks led to low sales. In the United States, Novavax has sold just 1.1 million doses, compared with over 1 billion delivered between Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. "I knew there were big hurdles," said Novavax's recently appointed CEO, John Jacobs. "The rawingredients of success are here. We have a proven product that is safe and effective." (Rowland, Washington Post, 3/1; Erman, Reuters, 2/28; Mueller, The Hill, 3/1)