Welcome to Tuesday's Overnight Health Care.

Vice President Mike PenceMichael (Mike) Richard PenceOvernight Health Care: Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing | Questions mount over testing delays | WHO says virus death rate higher than thought | Sports leagues take cautious approach amid outbreak CDC to issue guidance that patients can get coronavirus test with doctor's orders Top US airline group to meet with Pence on coronavirus MORE briefed senators today, and some were less than thrilled about the shortfalls in coronavirus testing. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said the death rate is now higher than previously thought. And we've got more on the fallout from the outbreak with a look at how sports leagues are playing it safe.

We'll start with Pence...

Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing

Vice President Mike Pence and other administration health officials came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, and faced some tough questions over lunch.

Bipartisan focus on testing. Some Republican senators said they shared growing concerns among Democrats and experts that there are not enough tests being made available, hindering the ability of officials to know how widespread the virus is within the United States.

Sen. Bill CassidyWilliam (Bill) Morgan CassidyPence pressed over coronavirus response in testy Senate briefing Overnight Health Care: Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing | Questions mount over testing delays | WHO says virus death rate higher than thought | Sports leagues take cautious approach amid outbreak Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing MORE (R-La.) said that among Republican senators as well there was "a lot of concern about the testing."

"Our capacity is not where it needs to be right now," added Sen. Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioRatcliffe nomination puts Susan Collins in tough spot Pence pressed over coronavirus response in testy Senate briefing Overnight Health Care: Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing | Questions mount over testing delays | WHO says virus death rate higher than thought | Sports leagues take cautious approach amid outbreak MORE (R-Fla.), though he noted that officials are ramping up their efforts on testing.

Sen. Maria CantwellMaria Elaine CantwellPence pressed over coronavirus response in testy Senate briefing Overnight Health Care: Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing | Questions mount over testing delays | WHO says virus death rate higher than thought | Sports leagues take cautious approach amid outbreak Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing MORE (D-Wash.) asked the vice president, who is leading the administration's response, about the lack of tests available.

"They keep throwing out numbers like millions of tests and we're saying, 'that's not right,'" Cantwell told reporters afterward. "Millions of tests aren't available right this second. People are calling their doctors and they're not being able to get tests."

Read more here.

Update on testing:The FDA's Stephen Hahn told lawmakers today that a private manufacturer plans to ship 2,500 kits that can perform 1 million tests to non-public health labs by the end of the week. But lawmakers and experts think this isn't feasible.

Meanwhile, the CDC plans to send out kits to public health labs that can perform 75,000 tests.

Read more here.

WHO: Coronavirus death rate higher than initially thought

World Health Organization officials on Tuesday said the death rate from the novel coronavirus is higher than previously thought.

"Globally, about 3.4 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have died. By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1 percent of those infected," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing.

Last week, Tedros said a WHO team in China found the case fatality rate was between 2 percent and 4 percent inside the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and 0.7 percent outside of Wuhan.

However, officials have struggled to find an accurate count of the death rate because many people with mild cases don't show symptoms and may not seek treatment.

Read more here.

Trump backs off suggestion to close southern border over coronavirus

President TrumpDonald John TrumpDems unlikely to subpoena Bolton Ratcliffe nomination puts Susan Collins in tough spot Meet the adviser shaping foreign policy for Sanders MORE on Tuesday said the administration is no longer seriously considering closing the southern border due to the spread of the coronavirus, three days after he said the idea was being weighed "very strongly."

"We're not looking at it very strongly," Trump said during a visit to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.

"I don't think we've seen any great evidence that that area's a problem at this moment," he added.

The comments mark a significant reversal from Saturday, when Trump suggested closing the southern border was on the table.

"We have received a lot of power on the southern border over the last couple years from the courts, but we are looking at that very strongly," he said during a news conference.

Mexico last week confirmed its first two cases of the coronavirus, which has spread to numerous countries.

Read more here.

Sports leagues take cautious approach with coronavirus

Major U.S. sports leagues are taking precautions and considering contingencies as the coronavirus spreads across the country.

Public health officials have urged Americans to go about their everyday lives, while also warning major disruptions could be coming as the virus becomes more widespread.

One such change could see Americans avoid large gatherings where the virus is more likely to spread, such as sporting events at stadiums and arenas.

Officials from the NCAA, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS all said they are monitoring the coronavirus. They've been in contact with health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to get updates on the virus and communicated with teams about efforts to avoid contracting the virus.

But while other countries have banned large gatherings and ordered games played in empty stadiums, the U.S. is not yet considering such drastic actions, and sports officials would not say if changes will need to be made in the future.

Read more here.

Nine coronavirus deaths now in Washington state

Washington state health officials reported three more deaths from the coronavirus Wednesday, increasing the number of fatalities to nine.

In all, state officials have confirmed 27 cases of the coronavirus, including the deaths.

More here.

Trump officials pressed on economic response to virus

The Trump administration is facing growing calls to detail how it will protect the economy as worries grow about the impact of the global coronavirus outbreak.

At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinOvernight Health Care: Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing | Questions mount over testing delays | WHO says virus death rate higher than thought | Sports leagues take cautious approach amid outbreak On The Money: Trump officials pressed on economic response to coronavirus | Fed rate cut fails to halt plunging stocks | Justices spar over fate of consumer agency Trump officials pressed on economic response to coronavirus MORE opened the door to actions to boost the economy and help businesses and workers in the future while trying to calm fears about the immediate impact of the outbreak.

But even as the Trump administration grapples with the public health aspect of the outbreak, there are mounting questions about its economic response.More on that here.

The Fed acts: The Federal Reserve cut interest rates amid concern about the potential economic toll of the coronavirus outbreak. The emergency cut was the first between meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee since the financial crisis in 2008.

But the move wasn't enough for Trump who called, on Twitter, for "More easing and cutting!" The rate cut also failed to keep the stock market from another big dip.

Economic worries growing: While voters remain bullish about the state of the economy there are warning signs that the coronavirus outbreak is causing new anxieties, according to a new poll. More on that poll here.

More coronavirus headlines

Trump: 'We're not looking at' restricting domestic travel over coronavirus

Trump donates quarterly salary to HHS for coronavirus efforts

World Bank, IMF to hold annual summit in 'virtual format' amid coronavirus fears

TSA chief says more countries facing travel restrictions over coronavirus 'soon'

Texas lawmakers call for investigation into CDC's handling of released coronavirus patient in San Antonio

Pentagon calls NYT article on Esper and coronavirus response 'dangerous and inaccurate'

NY subway trains to be sanitized every 72 hours to prevent coronavirus spreading

Facebook skipping SXSW amid coronavirus outbreak

Remember surprise billing?

While coronavirus has been dominating the health care beat recently, the conservative Republican Study Committee on Tuesday circulated a memo to its 147 Republican members in the House, raising concerns with two leading approaches to surprise billing legislation in that chamber.

Echoing concerns from other conservatives, the memo warns that some conservatives may be concerned the House Education and Labor Committee bill uses a "market-distorting price control" to determine how much insurers will pay doctors once the patient is protected.

Likewise, while the memo calls a bill from the House Ways and Means Committee that uses arbitration to set that price "less heavy-handed," it still raises concerns that "while Congress doesn't specifically pick a price-control, it outsources that task to a panel of government-appointed experts."

Read the full memo here.

What we're reading

Supreme Court's ObamaCare review cheers Democrats with election year health-care focus (Washington Post)

Who is getting sick, and how sick? A breakdown of coronavirus risk by demographic factors (Stat News)

State by state

Washington State risks seeing explosion in coronavirus cases without dramatic action, new analysis says (Stat News)

Medicaid expansion tied to fewer maternal deaths, study says (CNN)

The Hill op-eds

Coronavirus preparedness: Insurers and Medicaid need to relax prescription refills

The cure for COVID-19, and so much more, is global cooperation

Coronavirus, the House and oversight

Read more:

Overnight Health Care: Senators press Pence over coronavirus response in private briefing | Questions mount over testing delays | WHO says virus death...