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
EXCLUSIVE: Trump Denies COVID-19 Funds to Planned Parenthood
The Trump administration has acted to ensure that no funds from the new Paycheck Protection Program, set up to assist small businesses battered by COVID-19, will go to Planned Parenthood. “President Trump is committed to ensuring Paycheck Protection Program money is used for saving jobs at small businesses, not getting the government into the business… -
opinion
Why Full Business Expensing Is Vital for Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery
An idea gaining bipartisan traction in Congress would help fix the damaging taxation of new investments set to kick in amid America’s eventual economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now is the time for lawmakers to make full expensing permanent and extend similar treatment to factories and retail space. Full expensing lets businesses deduct spending… -
opinion
Lessons to Learn From COVID-19
We’re seeing now what efforts against COVID-19 were supposed to produce: a flattening of the growth curve of new fatalities. The growth rate of fatalities is dropping. We entered the dark tunnel, and now we are on the way out. Rays of light are shining in. We will survive. But will we learn? It appears… -
news
Leading CEO on Coronavirus Recovery Panel Wary of Government Power Grab
John Allison sees similarities between the response to the coronavirus pandemic and the financial crisis of 2008, when he was the CEO of BB&T Corp., a leading holding company. “The financial crisis was brought about largely from government policies and regulation, and a number of large companies that took real economic risk,” Allison says in… -
news
What to Expect as 12 States Begin to Reopen After COVID-19 Shutdown
Come Friday in Texas, the nation’s second-largest economy, businesses such as restaurants and retail stores will be open again, but at a 25% occupancy rate. After that, public health officials will reevaluate the data and decide whether to allow a 50% occupancy rate. The Lone Star State is among nine states where governors’ stay-at-home orders… -
opinion
Government Should Stop Promoting Unemployment During COVID-19
American prosperity always has relied on the fact that we are the most productive people in human history. Unfortunately, some short-term Band-Aids for the widespread economic distress caused by the coronavirus lockdowns may have substantial negative effects that make it harder for Americans to get back on their feet. While much of what is in… -
opinion
Volunteers Who Step Up in Face of COVID-19 Embody Spirit of America
The spirit of resilience, leadership, and community is woven into the fabric of American society, and it’s often displayed when we’re going through, or responding to, a national tragedy. It’s been no different with respect to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has brought many new challenges to our… -
opinion
Online Voting Is Not the Answer Even in a Pandemic
What is the best way to conduct elections in a time of epidemic? The simplest and most obvious answer might appear at first glance to be voting over the internet—via email, fax, blockchain, or smartphone apps. While this would certainly seem to fit with our internet-dependent lives as we socially distance, online voting is not… -
news
Trump Showcases Jobs Preserved by Paycheck Protection Program Amid COVID-19 Shutdown
Michael Heup not only got his job back at Bitty & Beau’s Coffee, which was temporarily closed because of the COVID-19 crisis, but he also had the chance to talk about it at the White House on Tuesday. “I love my job, and I am excited about going back to work,” Heup, a disabled employee,… -
opinion
To Prepare for COVID-19 Vaccine, Let’s Ensure Manufacturing Capacity Will Meet Demand
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies, in collaboration with scientists in academia and government, are working flat-out to develop drugs and vaccines to treat or prevent COVID-19. Although a vaccine is still months away, policymakers and the public should ask now: If and when their efforts succeed, will there be sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet the likely… -
opinion
Nothing Novel About Communist China’s Coronavirus Lies
Lying comes naturally to the Chinese Communist government, which will say anything to maintain its tight grip on the reins of power. Officials in Beijing continue to lie about the number of deaths in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus. The official death toll is 2,500, but some 5,000 burial urns were delivered to just one Wuhan crematorium, and… -
opinion
Parental Consent Laws for Underage Girls Seeking Abortion Help Fight Against Human Trafficking
It is welcome news that Florida is now set to become the sixth state to require both parental consent and notice before minor girls can get an abortion. A bill mandating this has passed both houses of the state Legislature, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has promised to sign it. Ensuring that a child’s parents are involved before any medical or surgical procedure… -
opinion
Doctor-Turned-Senator Who Predicted Pandemic Outlines Steps America Needs to Now Take
In 2005, then-Sen. Bill Frist had a message for Americans: a pandemic was coming, likely out of Asia, and due to increasing global travel, it would likely affect the United States. Now Frist, a doctor himself, is looking at how and when America can safely reopen. One example of a locale doing it right, in… -
opinion
‘Constitution Isn’t Suspended’ for COVID-19, Attorney General Barr Warns Public Officials
Attorney General William Barr on Monday publicly released an official memorandum he sent to United States attorneys and to his assistant attorney general for civil rights. The subject of the memo was “Balancing Public Safety with the Preservation of Civil Rights.” The memo is a succinct acknowledgment of the extraordinary challenges posed by the coronavirus, a… -
opinion
How Close Is US to Herd Immunity for COVID-19? What the Numbers Show
There has been considerable interest lately in Sweden’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Sweden’s top epidemiologist, Dr. Anders Tegnell, Sweden is expected to achieve herd immunity in several weeks’ time. Sweden pursued a much more relaxed mitigation strategy, practicing social distancing while avoiding a national lockdown, and approximately 20% of Swedes may have… -
opinion
Here’s Why Development of a Vaccine Takes So Long
As the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House has warned time and time again that a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 virus won’t be available for another 12 to 18 months. In a crisis, that sounds like forever. >>> When can America reopen? The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission, a project of The Heritage Foundation,… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: AG Barr Directs Federal Prosecutors to Protect ‘Civil Liberties’ During COVID-19
Attorney General William Barr on Monday directed U.S. attorneys to “be on the lookout” for state and local governments violating constitutional rights of individuals during the strict COVID-19 restrictions at the state and local level. “Many policies that would be unthinkable in regular times have become commonplace in recent weeks, and we do not want… -
news
In Tweet, Chinese Government Suggests US Is ‘Hiding’ Information on COVID-19
The Chinese government’s Foreign Ministry portrayed China as the victim of coronavirus disinformation on Monday, before suggesting minutes later that the U.S. government is “hiding something” regarding the pandemic. “China always stands against disinformation campaign. We are victim rather than producer of disinformation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry wrote from its Twitter account. The account then suggested without… -
opinion
America’s Uncomfortable but Unavoidable COVID-19 Choices Ahead
America is a free society, and in a free society, the exercise of personal choice is dependent upon both the opportunity to make choices and the ability to take responsibility for the choices we make. Choice and responsibility are conceptually inseparable. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is another fundamental truth: We are… -
opinion
Lives and Livelihoods Are Inseparable, Should Be Addressed as Such, Coronavirus Recovery Panel Says
The COVID-19 pandemic that has reached every corner of America presents policymakers with a vastly complicated problem that will require a diverse and tailored approach. Any solution to reopening the country will need to deal with a great variety of locales, as well as to engage with multiple levels of government. To that end, The…