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The federal government recently used preemption unlawfully to prevent state public health efforts to protect vulnerable people from COVID-19. As 1,000 current and former CDC epidemiologists noted in an open letter, the federal government has failed to use legal powers it does have to manage the crisis, leaving states to "invent their own differing systems" to manage COVID-19. We add that the federal government is now asserting emergency powers it does not have to disable state public health responses. Early this month, Nevada officials halted the use of two rapid coronavirus tests that produced high false-positive rates when used for screening vulnerable people in Nevada's nursing homes, assisted-living, long-term care, and other congregate facilities. More than half the positive test results were false. On October 8, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent a letter threatening that the Nevada officials' action was "inconsistent with and preempted by federal law and, as such, must cease immediately or appropriate action will be taken against those involved." Nevada yielded to this threat and, on October 9, removed its directive to stop using the tests.

"Transparency is a concept that is becoming increasingly lauded as a solution to a host of problems in the American health care system. Transparency initiatives show great promise, including empowering patients and other stakeholders to make more efficient decisions, improve resource allocation, and better regulate the health care industry. Nevertheless, transparency is not a cure-all for the problems facing the modern health care system. The authors of this volume present a nuanced view of transparency, exploring ways in which transparency has succeeded and ways in which transparency initiatives have room for improvement. Working at the intersection of law, medicine, ethics, and business, the book goes beyond the buzzwords to the heart of transparency's transformative potential, while interrogating its obstacles and downsides. It should be read by anyone looking for a better understanding of transparency in the health care context"--