Businesses no longer have to choose between a Paycheck Protection Program loan and the employee retention tax credit, but awareness of the latter seems to be low, writes Andrew Gargana of Paychex, citing the company's research. Gargana explains the recent changes and offers a sample use case.

Aetna and CVS Health launched a co-branded health plan in St. Louis and Southern California markets to improve their members' access to quality health care at a more affordable price. The Aetna Connected Plan with CVS Health will allow members to access Aetna's cost-saving performance network and CVS' retail and pharmacy services.

Preliminary data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey showed more than 9 in 10 Medicare beneficiaries who were living in the community reported satisfaction with their health care coverage and access to care in 2019, and 8 in 10 beneficiaries said they were satisfied with their out-of-pocket costs. Seventy-seven percent said their health status was good, very good or excellent; 62% said their health was about the same as last year; and 48% reported one or more disabilities.

A Society for Human Resource Management survey found 62% of Americans in the workforce oppose a government-mandated COVID-19 vaccination, although employee-mandated vaccinations received 52% support. Remote workers were more likely to back a government requirement than on-site workers.

There is a "possible link" between cases of low platelet counts and rare blood clotting and Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, according to the European Medicines Agency, but the vaccine's overall benefit-risk profile is favorable, and the company said it will add a warning to the vaccine's label in Europe. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Friday to discuss next steps for the vaccine in the US, after the government recommended pausing its administration to examine safety concerns.

Although about 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses are being administered in the US each day, the average daily total for newly reported COVID-19 cases averaged more than 67,100 over the past week, 25% higher than about a month ago. COVID-19 hospitalizations have climbed to around 44,000, and experts attribute the trends to the spread of more contagious variants, pandemic fatigue and reduced adherence to public health recommendations.

Illinois extended Medicaid benefits to mothers for up to 12 months after birth, becoming the first state in the nation to do so. The expansion allows access to behavioral health and mental health services for postpartum depression and will also help women who are working to regulate obesity and diabetes after childbirth.

Adults who slept six hours or less per weeknight at age 50 or 60 were more prone to developing dementia than those who slept seven hours a night, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications. Researchers followed almost 8,000 people for 25 years, and they found a link between persistent short sleep duration and 30% higher dementia risk among adults ages 50, 60 and 70, independent of behavioral, cardiometabolic, sociodemographic and mental health factors.

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