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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Congressional Leaders on the Left Just Relaunched Their Government Health Care Takeover
The Left is nothing if not persistent. While Congress has been exhaustively debating the tax cut and spending details of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful, Bill,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont’s independent socialist, and his House Democrat allies are again honing their comprehensive health policy agenda: the abolition of all Americans’ private and employer-sponsored health insurance…Robert Moffit -
Oklahoma GOP Lawmakers Push Marxist Health Care Scheme
Is Marxism the only way to save rural health care? Most conservatives would recoil from such a claim, but some Oklahoma legislators appear to have swallowed it. The House and Senate passed HB 2048, the 340B Nondiscrimination Act. The bill would lock in and expand Obamacare Medicaid drug policies in the Sooner State, but it…Trent England -
EXCLUSIVE: RFK Jr. Urged to Make Good on Commitment to Review Safety of Abortion Pill
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A conservative think tank is seeking to hold Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his commitment to review the safety and efficacy of the abortion pill. “I’ve asked Marty Makary, who’s the director of [the Food and Drug Administration], to do a complete review, and to…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
‘UNBELIEVABLY DAUNTING’: Kennedy Allies Launch Nonprofit to Help RFK Reform the Public Health Establishment
Allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gathered Thursday to launch the Make America Healthy Again Institute, an organization aiming to outsource the Health and Human Services Department’s oversight and reform efforts. “The people in the bureaucracies like the status quo, and so Bobby Kennedy and all of the great people who are at the top…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
Michigan Court Says State Constitution Allows No Abortion Limits
The Michigan Court of Claims held on May 13 that state laws requiring informed consent for abortion violate the unlimited right to “reproductive freedom” that voters placed in the Michigan Constitution in 2022. This is the first of many lawsuits using these radical state charter provisions to dismantle any limits on abortion and a host…Thomas Jipping -
Abortion, Government Funding for Planned Parenthood at an All-Time High
Planned Parenthood released its latest annual report the day after Mother’s Day. For 2023-2024, abortions are at an all-time high. So is government funding. Nearly three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and many states enacted strong pro-life protections, business is still booming. Congress and President Donald Trump can take action—but will…Melanie Israel -
New Study Debunks Myth About Women’s Health Care Providers
A new study is putting to rest the myth that abortion providers like Planned Parenthood dominate women’s health care. A recent analysis by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life think tank, found that community health centers outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities by a 15-to-1 ratio. The study concluded that there are a total of 8,810 community…Jacob Adams -
Should Parents Play God? New Tech Lets Parents Test Embryos for Obesity, Autism Risk
“Have it your way” isn’t just for fast-food burgers anymore. It’s also for babies. Orchid, which labels itself as “the world’s most advanced whole genome screening for embryos during IVF,” was highlighted in a recent New York Times article headlined “This baby was carefully selected as an embryo.” Orchid, writes journalist Anna Louie Sussman, “screens…Katrina Trinko -
Federal Judge Permanently Enjoins Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Abortion Regulation for Catholic Business Group
Catholic businesses may not be forced to subsidize abortions or fertility treatments, ruled federal Judge Daniel Traynor, a Donald Trump appointee to the District Court of North Dakota, on Tuesday. Traynor granted 9,000 Catholic businesses a permanent injunction against an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule requiring employers to provide abortion-related leave and other practices contrary to these…Joshua Arnold -
Why Young People Are Drawn to RFK Jr’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Agenda
Young people have rejected the “trust the science” mentality of older generations, paving the way for acceptance of the concept of “Make America Healthy Again,” according to a holistic doctor in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “I grew up in an era of thinking if it was that bad for us, it really shouldn’t be put in…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
Can States Nix Medicaid Dollars for Abortion Clinics? Supreme Court Justices Appear Divided
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a case with enormous consequences for federalism and the future of public funding for abortion. The question before the justices: Does the Medicaid Act of 1965 give Medicaid recipients the right to sue states in federal court when those…Sarah Parshall Perry -
For All Its Flaws, American Health Care Gets a Lot Right
We all know the problems with American health care. It costs too much, there are gaps in insurance coverage, health care markets are uncompetitive, provider payments are often incomprehensible, pricing is opaque, bureaucracy is metastasizing, and our citizens face absurd barriers to personal choice of plans and providers. These problems cry for solutions. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently restated his…Robert Moffit -
Sen. Roger Marshall: Dr. Oz Will Save Medicare, Strengthen Medicaid, Secure a Healthier America
Medicaid and Medicare are on a path that should concern all Americans, but with the right leadership, we can turn their trajectory around. On its current course, Medicare, the government-run health insurance program for seniors, will fall off a financial cliff in as little as a decade—maybe even sooner. Meanwhile, Medicaid, the program that pays…Sen. Roger Marshall -
Improving Child Health: Government-Run Health Care Is No Remedy
President Donald Trump told our new Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to “go wild” on health. Backing up Kennedy, Trump issued an executive order to create a special commission, chaired by Kennedy himself, to investigate, report, and recommend strategies to combat chronic disease. Importantly, the health of American children…Robert Moffit -
Can Virginia Republicans Halt Extreme Abortion-Until-Birth Amendment?
If we all had a dollar for every time we’ve been told, “This is the most important election of our lifetime,” we could afford to get the graffiti cleaned off our Telsas. However, before you tune out the election noise this year, consider the impact of one horrific constitutional amendment in Virginia that will be…Joe Thomas -
GOP Bill Protects Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers From Being Forced to Promote Abortion
Republican lawmakers announced a bill Monday to prohibit federal and state governments from discriminating against pro-life pregnancy resource centers by requiring them to perform or encourage abortions. The Let Pregnancy Care Centers Serve Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and four of his Republican colleagues, would amend the Public Health Service Act to “prohibit…Moira Gleason -
The Commission to ‘Make America Healthy Again’: Opening a New Conversation on Health
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., our new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services has a herculean task: “Make America Healthy Again.” As Politico recently reported, Kennedy’s ambitious agenda could even dwarf the efforts of Elon Musk, the genius entrepreneur attempting to streamline federal bureaucracies and save taxpayers the hundreds of billions of dollars…Robert Moffit -
EXCLUSIVE: Illinois Sued Over Law That Could Force Pro-Life Groups to Hire Abortion Advocates
A new Illinois law prevents pro-life organizations from hiring based on their pro-life views, meaning they could be forced instead to hire abortion advocates whose views violate their core religious beliefs. Now, a pro-life pregnancy resource center that wants to hire a nurse to counsel women facing unplanned pregnancies and a Catholic diocese are…Moira Gleason -
Restoring Trust in Public Health: Transparency Urgently Needed in Reporting Adverse Vaccine Effects
This is the final piece in an eight-article series on “Restoring Trust in Public Health: Lessons from COVID-19.” Four years of the Biden-Harris administration has left Americans rightly skeptical of public health institutions. This series highlights key findings from several congressional oversight reports, including the final report of the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus…Robert Moffit -
Restoring Trust in Public Health: Don’t Trade Lives and Livelihoods for Lockdowns Unsupported by the Data
This is the seventh in an eight-article series on “Restoring Trust in Public Health: Lessons from COVID-19.” Four years of the Biden-Harris administration has left Americans rightly skeptical of public health institutions. This series highlights key findings from several congressional oversight reports, including the final report of the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic,…Robert Moffit