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 That Mandate Vaccine Passports Must Require Voter ID Too, Lawmakers Propose
Republican lawmakers on Thursday introduced the Vaccine Passport and Voter ID Harmonization Act, legislation that would require states mandating vaccine passports to also mandate voter ID requirements. The Daily Caller News Foundation first obtained the text of the bill, introduced by Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., in the Senate and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in the…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Biden Rolls Out Red Carpet for COVID-Infected Illegal Immigrants
President Joe Biden is the root cause of today’s COVID-19 superspreader extravaganza on the southern frontier. His come-and-get-it, no-borders policy offers a laurel and hearty welcome to COVID-19-infected illegal aliens. Biden’s red carpet for COVID-19 carriers on the U.S.-Mexico boundary—atop his mandatory vaccines for U.S. military personnel and vaccination papers for lawful foreign visitors—epitomizes hypocrisy,…Deroy Murdock -
- Opinion
Biden Administration Should Look in Mirror Before Casting Stones Over Vaccinations
It was always going to be a Herculean task to inoculate, with an untried vaccine, a multiethnic nation of 330 million people across a vast continent—in an era when the media routinely warps the daily news. Many African Americans understandably harbored distrust of government inoculations after the infamous Tuskegee experiment. Nearly 40 million foreign residents…Victor Davis Hanson -
- Opinion
When Does COVID-19 Panic End?
Two weeks to slow the spread. That was the original rationale for the lockdowns, masking, and social distancing: Prevent transmission of the coronavirus so that Americans could be assured that we would not overwhelm hospital capacity, causing needless death. Wait until a vaccine is available. That was the next goal post: an admonition to continue…Ben Shapiro -
- News
‘Tech Giant Censorship’: YouTube Suspends News Outlet for Year-Old Videos About Masks, COVID-19
Sky News Australia has been suspended by YouTube for a week following a review of old videos, according to a statement published by the outlet. In a statement, Sky News criticized the temporary suspension of its popular YouTube channel, which prohibits the outlet from uploading new videos or livestreams for one week under the platform’s three strikes…Kendall Tietz -
- News
Biden Calls on Cuomo to ‘Resign,’ Scolds DeSantis and Abbott on COVID-19
President Joe Biden on Tuesday took swipes at governors of three of the nation’s most populous states, telling one to resign from office over sexual harassment allegations and two others to “get out of the way” regarding COVID-19 policy. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg…Fred Lucas -
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Report ‘Proves’ Coronavirus Leaked From Wuhan Lab, GOP Lawmakers Say
The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 entered the human population in a leak from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology by mid-September 2019, according to a new report from Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “[W]e now believe it’s time to completely dismiss the wet market as the source of the outbreak,” says the report, released…Andrew Kerr -
- News
DC Mayor Denies Breaking Own Mask Mandate, Despite Photo
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser denied breaking her own mask mandate at a wedding Saturday night, despite photo evidence showing her seated maskless at a table. The Washington Examiner first reported late Saturday that Bowser, a Democrat, had officiated a wedding attended by “hundreds of unmasked guests” at the five-star hotel The Line DC in the Adams…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Why States Should Tune Out Washington’s COVID-19 Noise
The federal government continues to offer garbled COVID-19 messages that undermine its credibility and sow confusion about the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now thinks there are more infections among the vaccinated than it did previously (35,000 weekly with symptomatic infections) and suggests that vaccinated people are helping spread what President Joe…Doug Badger -
- News
Accountability Not Clear for Cuomo in New York’s COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is celebrating the U.S. Justice Department decision to drop an investigation into his policy that sent COVID-19 patients into nursing homes. But with several other probes ongoing, the Democratic governor's legal situation is still unclear. The Justice Department announced July 17 that it would not investigate Cuomo’s March 2020 order…Ailan Evans -
- Opinion
Government’s Ham-Handed COVID-19 Messaging Hits New Low
The U.S. government’s inconsistent public messaging on the coronavirus came to a crescendo this week as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly reversed course on the use of masks by vaccinated people. The sudden backtracking follows a pattern of misleading and incoherent government health guidance that has led to a general erosion of…Neil Patel -
- News
Pelosi’s Office Silent on Action to Determine Origins of COVID-19
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office would not say whether the House plans to take up a bipartisan bill that would declassify any information regarding the origin of COVID-19. The bill, titled the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2021, passed the Senate through unanimous consent in May. It would require the Office of the Director of National Intelligence…Andrew Trunsky -
- News
Delta Variant of COVID-19 Soon Will Be Gone, Former FDA Chief Predicts
Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, predicts that the surge of the Delta variant of COVID-19 across the U.S. will last just a few more weeks. Speaking on CNBC, Gottlieb questioned whether new masking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was the right call, and reminded viewers that…Andrew Trunsky -
- News
Amid Union Pushback, Biden’s COVID-19 Vaccine Rules Face Legal Challenge Over Coercion
President Joe Biden touts the support of the business community for his COVID-19 vaccine policy, but leaders of organized labor, which the president identifies as his political base, aren’t happy. Requirements that both federal employees and the employees of federal contractors “attest” to their vaccination status and regularly submit to testing if not vaccinated could…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Biden Administration Set to Ignore Abortion Transparency Requirement
The public comment period closed on Wednesday for a rule proposed by the Biden administration that would reverse a Trump administration rule regarding program integrity for certain health insurance plans that cover elective abortions. At issue is Section 1303 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. This section of the…Melanie Israel -
- News
NIH Gave Millions to Chinese Entities to Study Infectious Diseases
The National Institutes of Health has doled out nearly $46 million in taxpayer funds to 100 Chinese institutions in the form of subgrants since 2011 to conduct research into infectious diseases, drug addiction, mental health, and other scientific fields, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of federal spending data. The National Institutes of…Andrew Kerr -
- News
De Blasio Warns ‘Voluntary Phase Over’ for COVID-19 Shots
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told MSNBC that the “voluntary phase is over” for COVID-19 vaccinations. “We’ve got to shake people at this point and say, ‘Come on now.’ We tried voluntary. We could not have been more kind and compassionate,” de Blasio said on MSNBC. “Free testing, everywhere you turn, incentives, friendly,…Steven Hall -
- Opinion
What the Pandemic Can Teach Us About Vulnerabilities in Our Defense Supply Chain
You only have to go back to March 2020, when grocery store shelves were stripped bare and toilet paper became a scarce commodity, to understand how vulnerable people are when supply doesn’t meet demand. Unfortunately, the U.S. military can easily be put in the same position. America’s defense supply chain—that is, the large network of…Walker Venable -
- News
5 American Athletes Whose Olympic Dreams Got Dashed by COVID-19
Five U.S. athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, crushing their dreams of competing in the world’s largest sporting event. U.S. men’s basketball player Bradley Beal tested positive July 15, which made him unable to travel to Tokyo, the USA team announced in a tweet. U.S women’s tennis star…Harry Wilmerding -
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Pelosi’s Archbishop Rebukes Her for Saying She Supports Abortion as ‘Devout Catholic’
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone rebuked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Thursday for calling herself a “devout Catholic” in her defense of taxpayer-funded abortion. “Let me repeat,” the San Francisco archbishop said in a statement. “No one can claim to be a devout Catholic and condone the killing of innocent human life, let alone have…Mary Margaret Olohan