Healthcare & Policy News
Reporting on health care policy, insurance coverage, and federal health programs. Includes news updates and conservative commentary from The Daily Signal.
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- News
States Move to Limit Abortion Ahead of High Court Ruling in Pivotal Dobbs Case
A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that more American voters support a ban on abortion after 15 weeks than oppose it. “With lawmakers in several states pushing forward with bills that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, 48% of voters said they would strongly or somewhat favor such restrictions, with exemptions to…Maggie Hroncich -
- News
3 States Sue Biden Administration Over Ending COVID-19 Restrictions at Border
Attorneys general for Arizona, Missouri, and Louisiana announced Monday they were suing the Biden administration over the decision to end Title 42, urging that the order be reinstated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that Title 42, the Trump-era policy that allows border authorities to quickly return migrants and has resulted in over 1.7 million…Jennie Taer -
- Opinion
What Educating Our Kids Looks Like After COVID-19
This Saturday edition of “The Daily Signal Podcast” features a discussion with Andy Smarick, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, on how education is evolving after the COVID-19 pandemic. School lockdowns, masking, and other restrictions have affected how parents across America think about their children’s education. COVID-19 accelerated certain trends that already were afoot, such…Richard M. Reinsch II -
- Opinion
Ending CDC Order That Expelled Illegal Border Crossers to Prevent COVID-19 Spread Will Create Massive New Influx
Even as our country tries to return to a post-pandemic “normal,” the Biden administration is about to make it harder—by unleashing a tidal wave of increased risk and exposure from COVID-19 from outside our borders. Over the past two years, we have made enormous sacrifices; experienced loss; and accepted government mandates affecting every aspect of…Mark Morgan -
- News
Homeland Security 20th Agency to Track Religious Vaccine Objectors
The Department of Homeland Security is at least the 20th federal agency to have created or proposed tracking lists for employees requesting religious accommodations from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. A rule placed in the Federal Register on Friday allows the DHS “to collect and maintain records on employees and applicants for employment” that are seeking…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
At UN Commission on Status of Women, Far Left Ties Gender Ideology, Abortion to Climate Change
The United Nations’ annual Commission on the Status of Women concluded last week in New York. Delegates and activists from around the world met to discuss climate change, the environment, and reducing the risk of disaster with “gender equality at the [center] of solutions.” In other words, it was business as usual. Whatever its stated…Grace Melton -
- Opinion
The Pandemic Changed How We Work. It’s Time for Labor Laws to Change, Too.
The way we work has always been evolving, but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated change. Progress that might otherwise have taken over a decade to achieve was crammed into a single year. With the rapid pace of change, it is critical that labor laws keep up with the times. Fortunately, a group of lawmakers have introduced…Rachel Greszler -
- News
Alcohol-Related Deaths Skyrocketed During COVID-19 Pandemic, Study Finds
The number of Americans who died due to alcohol-related causes skyrocketed in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a new study. Alcohol-related deaths rose roughly 25% from 2019 to 2020, according to a March 18 study conducted by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and published in…Laurel Duggan -
- Opinion
A Slip of Tongue on Abortion at Supreme Court?
When lawyer Sarah Weddington stood up in the Supreme Court on Oct. 11, 1972, to present the pro-abortion argument in the case of Roe v. Wade, she was legalistically careful in the language she used to describe whom exactly an abortion aborted. She avoided normal human terms like “unborn child” or “baby”—and, most importantly, “person.”…Terence Jeffrey -
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Biden’s HHS Pushes ‘Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility’ Agenda to Racialize Government
President Joe Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services is creating a “strategic plan” to advance goals for “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” in the federal workforce, according to an internal document obtained by The Daily Signal. The strategic plan at HHS, implemented in response to Biden’s executive order in June 2021, will build on…Kevin Mooney -
- Opinion
After 2 Years, We Don’t Need Nationwide Travel Mandates to Control COVID-19
Although we’ve seen significant progress in preventing and treating severe cases of COVID-19, thanks to vaccines and therapeutics, we still face a raging debate over remaining governmental restrictions, including those on personal travel. The Biden administration has regularly imposed or extended heavy-handed mandates. Courts have struck down or blocked some of these, including a vaccine…David Ditch -
- Opinion
This Navy Veteran Defied COVID-19 Mandates, Then DC Bureaucrats Closed His Pub
Government mandates and authoritarian COVID-19 rules have crushed small businesses in America. In the nation’s capital alone, hundreds of restaurants are now closed. Others are struggling to make ends meet. Despite all the happy talk from President Joe Biden in last week’s State of the Union address, some businesses will never recover. For every Democrat…Robert B. Bluey -
- Opinion
What We Learn From Democrats’ Failure to Pass an Extreme Abortion Bill
It’s always a relief when a bill expanding abortion “rights” fails to pass—especially when a Democrat is president. However, that’s not exactly the case when it comes to the most recent abortion bill that Democrats failed to pass in the Senate. This time, the story isn’t the fact that an abortion bill failed, but the…Nicole Russell -
- Opinion
Gov. Ron DeSantis Closes the Curtain on COVID-19 Theater
“You do not have to wear those masks,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told a group of high school students participating in an event Wednesday at the University of South Florida. “Please take them off.” “Honestly, it’s not doing anything,” the Republican governor said. “We’ve got to stop with this COVID theater. So, if you want…David Harsanyi -
- News
Surgeon General Demands Tech Companies Hand Over Data on COVID-19 ‘Misinformation’
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sent a formal request for information Thursday to major tech companies demanding data on “misinformation” related to the COVID-19 vaccine and the virus itself, The New York Times reported. The request demanded the companies provide data on “exactly how many users saw or may have been exposed to instances of…Ailan Evans -
- Opinion
Early COVID-19 Treatment Sacrificed to Promote Vaccine, Dr. Peter McCullough Says
Early treatment for COVID-19 was not prioritized. Why? Cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough says he believes health officials did not pursue early treatment options because they did not want to discourage Americans from being vaccinated. “There was a belief, and I think there’s still a belief today among many stakeholders, is that the only way a…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
COVID-19 Data Shows It’s Time for America to Return to Normal
President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1 offers a unique opportunity to break with past pandemic policies and announce that we are moving on from COVID-19. The public policy response to the pandemic has so far depended on nonpharmaceutical interventions and vaccines. These policies appear to have reached the limits of…Doug Badger -
- Opinion
Victims vs. Vectors? The Ethics of Giving COVID-19 Vaccines to Children
Fifty years ago, I began medical school. Through this half-century, I have provided, prescribed, promoted, and supported vaccine use. As a physician in retirement, I am fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19, as are my grown sons and three of my young adult grandchildren. Vaccine development has a proud history that has prevented millions of…Alma Golden -
- Opinion
How to Determine What You Actually Believe About Abortion
Does life really begin at conception? Is there a moment in the womb when a fetus becomes human? Are there times when abortion is necessary? Many of us have found ourselves asking these questions, but the answers can feel challenging to find. On today’s episode of “Problematic Women,” we explain what resources and tools we…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
New Zealand’s COVID-19-Related Crackdown on Economic Freedom Lingers On
New Zealand has long been considered an economically free country. The government’s stringent, almost straightjacket-like COVID-19 restrictions, however, run counter to New Zealand’s multidecade history of strong and robust economic freedom. New Zealand fell two ranks in The Heritage Foundation’s 2022 Index of Economic Freedom released last week, from No. 2 down to No. 4…Patrick Tyrrell