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
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…Andrew Kerr -
- 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…Rachel del Guidice -
- 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…Nora Sullivan -
- 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,…Andrew Kerr -
- 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…Tony Perkins -
- 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…Larry Elder -
- News
Ex-CDC Director Says He Believes Coronavirus Leaked From Wuhan Lab
Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cast doubt on the prevalent theory about the origins of the coronavirus, saying in an interview released Friday that he believes the virus escaped from a science lab in China. “I do not believe this somehow came from a bat to a…Chuck Ross -
- Opinion
The Racist Sound of ‘Whiteness Is a Pandemic’
The Root is obviously a hyperbolically racial magazine, since its slogan is “The Blacker the Content the Sweeter the Truth.” It’s not surprising that The Root frequently publishes writer Damon Young, author of the memoir “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker.” We’re told he asked important and dramatic questions like “Will this white person’s…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
Trump’s Tax Cuts Worked. Tax Hikes Now Will Kneecap Economic Recovery From COVID-19.
Three years after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took effect, Democrats in Congress are ready to roll back some of the most critical reforms. The business tax cuts have been maligned as contrary to the interests of workers. In reality, the corporate tax cut succeeded at allowing new business investment, creating jobs, raising wages,…Adam Michel -
- Opinion
How Robust Education Marketplace Could Combat Learning Loss From COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic drastically changed K-12 education, as U.S. public and private schools complied with state-mandated closures a year ago. As of January, 72% of the nation’s 56.4 million schoolchildren were learning in remote or hybrid models, according to a nationally representative survey of families. Amid ongoing calls from special-interest groups for continued school closures…Jude Schwalbach -
- News
As More Schools Reopen, CDC Now Says Students Can Sit Just 3 Feet Apart
As more schools around the country move toward reopening, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance Friday, saying that K-12 students may sit 3 feet apart instead of 6 feet—as long as they wear masks. That’s regardless of whether the children are in “areas of low, moderate, or substantial community transmission” of…Steven Hall -
- News
Read the Paul-Fauci Exchange About Wearing Masks After Vaccination
During a Senate hearing Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul and Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sparred over whether masks should be used after a person has received a COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s a transcript of their exchange, which occurred during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing: Rand…Daily Signal Staff -
- News
Senate Narrowly Confirms Xavier Becerra to Lead Health and Human Services
The Senate narrowly confirmed California Attorney General Xavier Becerra Thursday to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Becerra, who also previously served in the House of Representatives, was confirmed 50-49, with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, joining Democrats in voting for him. The vote was the closest of any of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees so…Andrew Trunsky -
- Opinion
Team Biden Spreads Fake News About Trump Vaccine Record
Team Biden has a persistent lying problem when it comes to the Trump administration’s supposedly terrible record with the coronavirus vaccine. You could see it again in a March 11 prime-time NBC News coronavirus special, “COVID One Year Later: Life After Lockdown.” On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, anchorman Lester Holt suggested to White…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
More Children 14 and Under Are Murdered Than Die of COVID-19
American children 14 years and younger are more likely to be murdered than to die because of COVID-19, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Jan. 12, the federal agency’s National Center for Health Statistics published its final report on the death data for the United States in 2018….Terence Jeffrey -
- Opinion
The End of COVID-19 Pandemic Is in Sight, Data Show
When it comes to COVID-19 policy, President Joe Biden has clearly opted for a go-slow approach. If we “follow the science,” though, it’s apparent that he’s being too cautious. In his first prime-time address in office, he addressed the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in America. He expressed hope that, by Independence Day, family and…Kevin Pham -
- Opinion
Trump, Not Biden, Deserves Credit for Progress Against COVID-19
When a politician promises to “tell the truth,” as President Joe Biden did in his nationally televised address last Thursday, you can add that statement to familiar ones lacking the ring of sincerity. They include: “The gun isn’t loaded”; “the microphone is off”; “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,” and “I…Cal Thomas -
- Opinion
Biden Wants a Culture Warrior at HHS. That’s a Big Mistake.
The Senate will soon vote on President Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of health and human services, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Many organizations and members of Congress are calling for his nomination to be rejected—and with good reason. Becerra is unfit and unqualified to serve in this vitally important Cabinet position. Those unfamiliar with Becerra’s record…Melanie Israel -
- Opinion
Did COVID-19 Permanently Change Our View of Government Power?
Can the federal government ban evictions? Seems like a pretty straightforward question. But the answer touches on a deeper one, as yet unsettled: Will life after COVID-19 be normal? Consider what a federal judge said recently when he struck down a Centers for Disease Control ban on evictions, which the Trump administration instituted last year…Doug Badger -
- Opinion
Liberals Use COVID-19 Crisis to Achieve Policy Goals
For some special interests, a fading coronavirus pandemic poses a problem, but not always an insurmountable one. Big Labor and its acolytes cite the virus as a compelling reason for doubling the minimum wage and forcing businesses to provide more paid sick leave, while the Biden administration is using the pandemic as part of its justification for…Steve Miller