Hey, it’s National Donut Day! Make sure you take advantage of the holiday and get yourself a free donut. Then check out what we’re reading while you eat it.

• NAHU CEO Janet Trautwein's op-ed on why a public option would destroy private health insurance was published this week by InsideSources. 
• NAHU signed on to a stakeholder letter to HHS and CMS requesting that the agencies to allow Medicare Advantage plans to cover both video-enabled and audio-only telehealth visits for beneficiaries.
• Welp Magazine included NAHU’s Healthcare Happy Hour in their list of the 20 best healthcare podcasts of 2021.
• New CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in one of her first interviews that her top priorities will be broadening insurance coverage and ensuring health equity. Brooks-LaSure also suggested the Administration would support efforts in Congress to ensure coverage for the millions of Americans in the so-called Medicaid gap.
• The silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it sparked a greater interest in employee benefits and products such as life insurance.That was the word from a panel at Thursday’s virtual LIMRA Marketing Conference, who presented research findings on how the pandemic influenced employers’ and workers’ views of employee benefits.
• Hiring picked up steam last month, providing a mild shot of relief to an economy that needs workers as millions of Americans again start to venture out. U.S. employers added 559,000 jobs in May. That's about twice the number of jobs that were added during a disappointing April, but still a slowdown compared to the 770,000 jobs created in March.
• Healthcare delivery is currently experiencing a transformation due to the rising popularity and prevalence of virtual care models, yielding advantages for patients and clinicians. During a virtual featured session sponsored by Vituity as part of Becker's Hospital Review 11th Annual Meeting, a panel of executive healthcare leaders explained the rapid growth in virtual care and its lasting impact on creating a new care paradigm.
• Poor quality management processes, fear of reprisal and other failures at a Veterans Affairs hospital allowed a pathologist with a substance abuse condition to misdiagnose thousands of cases over 13 years, several of which led to suboptimal treatments and patient deaths, according to an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General.
• The FDA’s decision next week whether to approve the first treatment for Alzheimer’s disease highlights a deep division over the drug’s benefits as well as criticism about the integrity of the FDA approval process.Some FDA scientists in November joined with the company to present a document praising the intravenous drug. But other FDA officials and many outside experts say the evidence for the drug is shaky at best and that another large clinical trial is needed.
• Planning for retirement can be tricky. It requires sacrifice in terms of saving money over many years, shrewdness in investing it and discipline in withdrawing it cautiously. From withdrawing too much early in retirement to underestimating health costs and failing to plan for taxes, there are a lot of potential pitfalls. Here are some of the biggest risks when preparing for retirement.
• American intelligence officials have not ruled out the potential for aerial phenomena observed by Navy pilots in recent years to be alien space crafts. As of now there is still no explanation for the crafts’ unusual movements that have mystified scientists and the military, according to senior administration officials briefed on the findings of a highly anticipated government report.
• In this week’s bit of feel-good news: An Army veteran donated 36 acres of land to build a retreat for homeless veterans struggling with addiction. The retreat will feature an 8,000-square-foot facility incorporating a thrift store and a sober living residence providing treatment, rehabilitation, and vocational training—all in a serene, wooded setting.