Utah Governor Gary Herbert has declared a state of emergency and implemented a set of guidelines, including a mask mandate, as COVID-19 infections surge.
The state has seen more than 2,000 news cases per day for the last week and Greg Bell, president and CEO of the Utah Hospital Association said the situation is "unsustainable."
"We've long been urging the governor to make the wearing of masks mandatory. That's been done more on a local level and hasn't hitherto been needed in rural areas, but right now, we're in it deep and we have to have some intervention," Bell told Cheddar.
While mask wearing has become a political debate, particularly in Republican-led states, Bell said Utah's legislative leadership has been "by-and-large on board."
"We're seeing two-thirds of the state or more saying 'Look it's time we got absolutely serious about this.' It can't just be a few of us. It's got to be all of us, or it's not going to make a difference," he continued.
As the number of hospitalizations in Utah continues to rise, a very real concern for many patients — and those on the fence about admitting themselves to a hospital — are the growing costs of healthcare and emergency room visits.
Yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court hearing seemed to suggest it is likely to allow the Affordable Care Act to continue to exist, even without the controversial individual mandate. However, many still question why healthcare is so expensive.
President Trump, through executive order, required medical price transparency and recently finalized a rule that requires insurance companies to disclose healthcare price points so patients can make more informed decisions before seeking medical care.
Bell and the Utah Hospital Association are fighting against that executive order, which is set to begin rolling out January 1, 2021.
"Hospital pricing is way too complex. In a way it's indefensible, but it's also a system that's been foisted on us by the federal government and the insurance companies," he told Cheddar.
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Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
