Healthcare & Policy News
Reporting on health care policy, insurance coverage, and federal health programs. Includes news updates and conservative commentary from The Daily Signal.
-
news
Customs and Border Protection Implements New Measures at US-Mexico Border as Coronavirus Spikes
Individuals crossing the U.S.-Mexico border will be subject to secondary inspections after a survey of people crossing the border found 60% of trips were nonessential, a local NBC affiliate reported. The survey was reportedly given to 100,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and found that over 60% of the trips made were considered nonessential, NBC… -
opinion
2 Musts for Beating COVID-19: Know Who’s Sick, Provide Places to Recover
A recent special report published by The Heritage Foundation looks at the policy responses several countries have taken to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The report sheds light on two prerequisites—in the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine or a cure—that countries need to have in place to succeed at turning back the virus. No. 1: Adequate… -
news
Wildfires, Blackouts, High Gas Prices: Californians Fight Familiar Foes Amid Pandemic
Californians are struggling with raging wildfires, roving blackouts, and sky high gas taxes while simultaneously dealing with government-imposed economic lockdowns and a pandemic that has so far killed more than 11,000 people in the state. Northern California had roughly 33 active wildfires Wednesday that had burned more than 141,000 acres as they spread, media reports show. The… -
news
3 Ways the Trump Administration Saves on Medicare, Medicaid Costs
The Trump administration has made several free market reforms in health care that should contribute to the solvency of Medicare and Medicaid, the official in charge of the programs says. President Donald Trump, both as a candidate and as an officeholder, has opposed structural entitlement reforms backed by some conservatives. But the Trump administration’s actions… -
news
2 Reports Buttress Trump Policies Banning Abortion Funding Abroad, Fetal Tissue Research at Home
The government issued two reports Tuesday evaluating the Trump administration’s pro-life policies that curb taxpayer funding for abortion-related matters here and abroad. The State Department issued a status report early Tuesday on the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy, which requires foreign nongovernmental organizations getting U.S. taxpayer funding to agree not to perform or… -
opinion
4 States Supporting Private Schools With COVID-19 Relief Lead Way on Education Choice
When COVID-19 brought the school year to an abrupt halt early this year, few anticipated that the global pandemic would be the impetus for private school choice reforms across the nation. As is the case with so many other sectors, many private schools struggled after losing tuition and other funding resources due to the strains… -
opinion
In Responding to Coronavirus, We Should Seek to Thrive, Not Just Survive
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a dramatic rise in mental health problems. My own experience attests to this, as the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown led me into a state of clinical depression and anxiety from which I am still recovering. And the data indicate that, unfortunately, my own experience is far from unusual. The Centers for… -
news
3 Things to Know About Trump COVID-19 Adviser Under Attack by the Left
Despite an accomplished career at the Stanford University Medical Center, including writing a leading textbook in his field, Dr. Scott Atlas, the president’s new appointee to the White House coronavirus task force, is being dismissed by some liberal commentators as just a political hack. CNN in several segments labeled Atlas as a “Fox News guest,”… -
opinion
COVID-19 Cases, Deaths Remain Concentrated: Heritage’s Tracker—and New Graphic Tool—Provide Context
As Heritage Foundation researchers have demonstrated throughout the pandemic, the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. has been heavily concentrated in a small number of states—and among a small number of counties within those states. Even though the U.S. saw a rapid rise in cases during June and July, the overall levels of concentration have… -
opinion
With New Zealand’s New Lockdown, Auckland Trapped in COVID-19 Nightmare
A coronavirus outbreak of 29 cases as of Friday connected to one New Zealand family in South Auckland is all it took for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to order a new lockdown of New Zealand’s most populous city, as well as substantially limit daily activities nationwide. The number of cases has risen to 58 as… -
opinion
States Have an Obligation to Offer Parents School Choice During Pandemic Closures
Across America, as public schools are choosing to not reopen or to only provide a partial in-person experience this fall, families are struggling to figure out how to ensure their kids get a good education and don’t fall further behind. The good news is, there has never been another time in America so ripe for… -
opinion
Baseball Season, Our Distorted View of COVID-19, and What the Facts Tell Us
If you’re not convinced that Americans have been sold a distorted view of COVID-19 risk, consider Major League Baseball. Most of the league’s players are among the 46 million Americans between ages 25 and 34. A total of 992 people in this age group have died with COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and… -
opinion
Without Proper Context, Leaked COVID-19 Data Is Worse Than Misleading
What’s the No. 1 coronavirus hot spot in America? Is it Los Angeles County, which led the nation with nearly 200,000 confirmed cases on Aug. 2, according to Johns Hopkins University? Is it Miami-Dade County, Florida, which ranked second with more than 121,000 cases? Or is it Houston/Harris County, Texas, where nearly 75,000 cases have… -
opinion
How Much Do You Know About COVID-19? Take This Quiz
1. True or False: COVID-19 is now the leading cause of death in the U.S. False. It’s not even close. As of July 25, the most recent date for which Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data is available, there were 135,579 deaths related to the contagion, less than 10% of the more than 1.5… -
opinion
Protectionism and the Pandemic Are Curtailing Global Trade. Policymakers Must Act Accordingly.
According to the latest semiannual trade monitoring report by the World Trade Organization, recent data indicates an 18% decline in trade over the past year. The recessionary impact of COVID-19 is largely responsible for the decline, although world trade had already stagnated in 2019 due to slowing world growth and new protectionist measures around the… -
opinion
What We Know Now About Hydroxychloroquine to Treat COVID-19
Early in health officials’ response to the pandemic, one drug offered hope of a safe, widely available, and cheap therapeutic that would break the death grip that COVID-19 held on the world. However, after its promised efficacy didn’t materialize in large, statistically significant numbers, enthusiasm for the drug, hydroxychloroquine, quickly waned. Why, then, has it… -
opinion
The COVID-19 Double Standard
Decent Americans who are feeling perplexed today shouldn’t be ashamed about it. There is good reason to be perplexed. On the one hand, in the name of health and safety, we are being asked by government to compromise personal freedoms that we have always taken for granted: going to work, going to church, sending our… -
opinion
63% of US Counties Still Have 5 or Fewer COVID-19 Deaths
As Heritage Foundation researchers have demonstrated throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. has been heavily concentrated in a small number of states—and among a small number of counties within states. Even though the U.S. has seen a rapid rise in cases during the past month, the overall levels of concentration… -
news
Herman Cain, Business Executive and Conservative Favorite, Felled by COVID-19
Herman Cain, who rose from working-class beginnings in Georgia to become an admired pizza magnate, popular political commentator, and leading Republican presidential contender, has died of COVID-19, his website announced Thursday. He was 74. Along the way to national prominence, Cain was a Navy specialist in ballistic missiles, ran some 400 Burger Kings around Philadelphia,… -
opinion
What States Can Learn From Texas’ COVID-19 Response
Texas has seen a surge of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, prompting the White House’s coronavirus task force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, to call the state one of “three New Yorks.” Some have even blamed the state’s early attempt to reopen as the cause of surge. While the surge needs to be taken seriously, there…