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
Gov. Ron DeSantis Vows to Pardon Those Charged With Disobeying COVID-19 Orders
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday evening that he will be pardoning Floridians charged with violating COVID-19 mask or social distancing restrictions. The Florida Republican broke the news on “The Ingraham Angle” to Mike and Jillian Carnevale, gym owners who face jail time for allowing their members to workout maskless. “I’m glad you have Mike and Jillian… -
opinion
Abortion Isn’t Essential Health Care. This OB-GYN Explains Why.
Pro-life advocates worry that an abortion-friendly political agenda has worked itself into the medical specialty of obstetrics and gynecology. Now, OB-GYN medical professionals who are pro-life are taking a stand for women and babies as they seek to uphold the sanctity of all human life and push back on the narrative that abortion is essential… -
opinion
What’s Behind Masks in Cars and Other COVID-19 Insanity
If you wanted to teach a class on how to cause confusion and distrust, you would follow the U.S. government’s coronavirus playbook. A lot has been written about the historically low levels of trust Americans have in their leaders and institutions. There’s been less analysis on what happens when a government has no faith in… -
opinion
How Lila Rose Challenged Abortion Industry and Became a Voice for Unborn
Lila Rose first began investigating abortion clinics as a college student in California more than a decade ago. She says she quickly discovered that Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, “covers up child sexual abuse.” As founder and president of the pro-life organization Live Action, Rose, now 32, has conducted countless undercover investigations into… -
news
Gov. Ron DeSantis Signs Bill Scrapping Florida’s COVID-19 Restrictions
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order scrapping all COVID-19 restrictions throughout the state and an accompanying bill that limits localities’ ability to enforce emergency precautions. “I think that’s the evidence-based thing to do,” DeSantis said during a press conference Monday announcing the executive order. “I think folks that are saying they need to be… -
opinion
Root of Mass Shootings Pandemic Is Not Gun Access
Growing up in rural South Carolina on my family’s farm, I developed a love, appreciation, and, most importantly, a respect for firearms. To this day, I remain a collector of firearms and a supporter of the American right to keep and bear arms as enshrined in the Second Amendment. I was taught that safety is… -
opinion
With COVID-19 Advice, CDC Too Often Ignores Science
How reliable are government declarations that mask mandates prevent the spread of the coronavirus? Our recent experience with researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has left us less than confident that the public should trust the CDC’s published research, much less any pronouncements based on that research. Our problem involves a paper that the… -
news
Wealthiest Cities in Bluest States Reap Windfall From Democrats’ COVID-19 ‘Stimulus’
The website of the Beverly Hills city government touts the home of Hollywood celebrities as having “exceptional dining, entertainment, shopping and cultural experiences,” plus an “international reputation as a premier destination in which to live, work and play.” But Mayor Lester Friedman complained in a March letter that Beverly Hills faces “one of the most… -
news
GOP Bill Would Ban Abortion Providers From Receiving COVID-19 Relief
Republican lawmakers will introduce a bill Tuesday that explicitly bans abortion providers from receiving coronavirus aid. The Abortion Providers Loan Elimination Act, sponsored by Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., would “prohibit abortion providers from receiving a covered loan under the paycheck protection program,” according to a draft of the proposal provided to The Daily Caller News Foundation…. -
news
GOP Lawmakers Question CDC Mask Guidance for Kids
Thirty-two Republican members of Congress have written to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asking how the agency came to its conclusion that children 2 years of age and older should wear face masks against the coronavirus when in public and around people who don’t live in their household. The lawmakers,… -
opinion
Sin of Planned Parenthood Is Abortion, Not Margaret Sanger
The president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Alexis McGill Johnson, has used The New York Times as a confessional to fess up to the racist history of Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger. “We must reckon with Margaret Sanger’s association with white supremacist groups and eugenics,” she writes. Sanger’s involvement with the notoriously racist eugenics… -
opinion
Biden Administration’s Rank Partisanship Won’t Cancel Trump’s Vaccine Accomplishments
President Joe Biden has been taking a bit of a victory lap lately. He is telling the nation that we will have enough vaccine supply for every adult by the end of May and that his administration is on track to meet his stated goal of 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days. According… -
news
Democrats Come to Defense of Gov. Rick DeSantis After ‘60 Minutes’ Segment on COVID-19 Vaccine
Republicans and Democrats alike say they’re horrified by how “60 Minutes” portrayed actions to fight COVID-19 taken by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. On Sunday night, “60 Minutes” aired an edited exchange with DeSantis implying that the Republican governor favored grocery store chain Publix with coronavirus vaccines because Publix had donated to his campaign. The Daily… -
opinion
European Defense Spending Still Rising, but COVID-19 Poses Retrenching Risk
Defense budgets in Europe have thus far weathered the coronavirus pandemic surprisingly well. While that’s good news, it’s no time to become complacent. As the economic impact of the pandemic comes more clearly into focus over the next few years, maintaining defense spending will require sustained political will. The recently released NATO Secretary-General’s Annual Report… -
news
US Grant to Wuhan Lab on Bat-Based Coronaviruses Didn’t Get Review, NIH Says
An oversight board created to scrutinize research that would enhance highly dangerous pathogens did not review a National Institutes of Health grant that funded a lab in Wuhan, China, to genetically modify bat-based coronaviruses. Experts say the NIH grant describes scientists as conducting gain-of-function research, a risky area of study that, in this case, made… -
opinion
Meet Hair Salon Owner Who Went to Jail for Opening During COVID-19 Lockdown
Shelley Luther made national news at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic when she was arrested and jailed for a week in the spring of 2020 for reopening her North Dallas, Texas, salon contrary to the county’s stay-at-home edict. “You get a lot of moments of silence by yourself,” Luther said of her week in… -
opinion
My Friend Was Pressured to Have an Abortion After Scan Showed Chance of Disability
Every day in America, pregnant women sit in their doctors’ offices, waiting for scan results. These mothers—no matter their age, race, or economic backgrounds—all hope to hear the same news: that their baby is healthy and growing right on track. Hearing the all-clear, these moms can rejoice and continue with their medical appointments. However, for… -
news
US Joins 13 Other Democracies in Condemning China’s Influence on WHO’s Report on Origins of Coronavirus
The State Department issued a joint statement with 13 other democracies expressing concerns over the World Health Organization’s study with China investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Together, we support a transparent and independent analysis and evaluation, free from undue influence, of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the State Department's statement read. “In this regard,… -
opinion
Abortion Industry Puts Its Cruel Paws on Pet Dogs
The abortion industry has done some stupid things over the years—like putting forceps on its Christmas trees, fundraising on Mother’s Day, opening abortion “spas,” hosting condom art contests, and offering Black Friday deals—but NARAL’s latest “#ProChoicePup” hashtag is so ridiculous that The Babylon Bee had to clarify that it’s not satire. “In news that should surprise no one, the abortion industry is… -
opinion
Trump Critics Who Called Vaccine Timetable Reckless Now Say It’s Reckless Not to Take Vaccines
Dr. Anthony Fauci wants former President Donald Trump to tell his supporters to take the COVID-19 vaccine. It is true that a March 2021 NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 47% of Trump 2020 supporters said they would not get vaccinated. It is also true that Trump has urged Americans to take the vaccine. He called…