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
Researchers Lower Fatality Projections in Coronavirus Model Used by White House
The researchers whose model the White House has used to help guide its coronavirus response lowered their estimate Sunday for the number of Americans projected to die during the first wave of the pandemic. The model, from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, now projects 81,766 deaths in the United States…Chuck Ross -
- Opinion
When America Gets Coronavirus Under Control, Africa Will Need Our Help
We know too little about the new coronavirus to say how it will progress in Africa, but we know enough to realize it is likely to pummel the continent. As of April 6, Johns Hopkins University reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 51 of Africa’s 54 countries, with a total of over 9,400 cases. The…Joshua Meservey -
- Opinion
Second Amendment Rights During Coronavirus Pandemic
States all over America are mandating that nonessential businesses close, which is forcing lawmakers to decide which businesses should be deemed “essential.” In states such as New York and Massachusetts, gun stores already have been told to close their doors. In Texas, on the other hand, the attorney general has said gun stores may remain…Virginia Allen -
- News
Ahead of COVID-19 ‘Peak,’ Trump Touts ‘Light at the End of the Tunnel’
President Donald Trump has warned that the week ahead could be the worst yet in the COVID-19 crisis, but he and other administration officials also shared a positive note Sunday, using terms such as “glimmers of progress” and “light at the end of the tunnel.” “In the days ahead. America will endure the peak of…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
In Hiding COVID-19 at First, China Chose Reputation Over Saving Lives
For over a decade, China has conducted a broad campaign to reshape the international system into a new, post-American global order. In this effort, it is essential that China project an image of being supremely capable and powerful, thereby demonstrating that China—not Europe or the United States—is the best model for governance and economic development. The coronavirus pandemic undermines this…Brett Schaefer -
- Opinion
How Capitalism Is Helping US Defeat COVID-19
In times of crisis, Americans don’t look just to the government to save the day. In certain intellectual circles in the United States it’s become fashionable to decry free markets, laying every economic woe of any American at the feet of “late stage capitalism,” the buzzword used to decry any business practice that seems designed…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
Asymptomatic Cases Complicate the Containment of Coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2, the biological pathogen that causes the COVID-19 disease, is a vicious virus. While much remains to be learned, the new coronavirus seems to be more infectious than the annual flu and possibly more deadly. The unbelievable daily growth in the global confirmed case count speaks for itself. Indeed, confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the…Brayden Helwig -
- Opinion
Don’t Expect Perfection in Government’s COVID-19 Treatment Statements
Scientists are working furiously to find a drug to treat the COVID-19 coronavirus. (See here, here, and here.) Currently, there’s no medical consensus as to what drug (if any) is best for patients. The result is that senior government officials, including governors, have started to get involved in the matter. They are acting under tremendous…Paul J. Larkin -
- News
For Mike Lindell, the Battle Against COVID-19 Is No Pillow Fight
Michael Lindell, the inventor and CEO of MyPillow, stood outside the White House on Monday as a guest during the daily coronavirus task force briefing, at which he announced that his company had begun mass production of face masks. The Chaska, Minnesota-based pillow giant has retooled 75% of its production toward making face masks to…Virginia Allen -
- News
CDC Now Recommending Face Masks, Trump Says
President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t be wearing a face mask to slow the spread of the new coronavirus even as he announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now suggesting Americans do so. “I’m feeling good. I don’t know. Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
COVID-19 Rocks Hospitality Industry as Economy Sheds 701,000 Jobs
The start of the devastation from the Chinese virus is clearly reflected in the new monthly jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows that the economy axed 701,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate jumped from a near historic low of 3.5% to 4.4%. This report brings an end to the…Timothy Doescher -
- Opinion
Kowtowing to China on Taiwan and the Coronavirus
China, where the new coronavirus first emerged, has reacted with the Chinese Communist Party’s trademark mix of obfuscation and truculence throughout the COVID-19 crisis. This week, this potent cocktail was again in evidence in the city of Hong Kong. Beijing promised that Hong Kong, an international port and British creation that was a crown colony…Mike Gonzalez -
- Opinion
Investigating China’s Coronavirus Propaganda Wildfire
China is waging a propaganda war against the coronavirus on several fronts. In well-documented efforts, China has sought to deflect attention from its early suppression of information about COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and to claim that, among all nations, China has halted the scourge. But China’s communist government also is pushing an…Richard Bernstein -
- Opinion
Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, What Daily Life Is Like in Italy Now
Italy has been hit hard by coronavirus deaths, with over 13,000 total coronavirus fatalities to date. "The worst part's been witnessing all these elderly people just fade away and die by the hundreds every day," says Aura Latorre, a Venezuelan immigrant who now resides in southern Italy. She shares on the podcast what it’s like to…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
Small Business Loans to Expand for COVID-19 Relief
Small businesses will be able to access new loans starting Friday to help them stay afloat during the economic crisis wrought by the coronavirus. The $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump established a $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program. “This relief will help stabilize the small business sector…Fred Lucas -
- News
Citing ‘Pandering’ to China, Sen. Rick Scott Wants WHO Documents on Coronavirus
The World Health Organization should have a reckoning for parroting China’s misinformation about the coronavirus, taking a hit to its budget if it doesn’t reform, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Thursday in an interview with The Daily Signal. “Everything coming out of China has been wrong, and the WHO has said they [the Chinese] have…Fred Lucas -
- News
Fauci: Trump Took Coronavirus Seriously ‘From the Beginning’
Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview released Thursday that President Donald Trump took the coronavirus threat seriously “from the beginning” of the pandemic. “I think he always understood the seriousness of it. Right now, as the numbers are becoming crystal clear, he himself is articulating an awareness of that seriousness,” Fauci said in an interview on…Chuck Ross -
- Opinion
Coronavirus Shows Our Need for God
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The immortal words of Charles Dickens have never rung truer than now, during the age of COVID-19 and the global pandemic. Horror and hope are intermingled daily, reminding all of us about the limits of our power, and the trust and faith that…Armstrong Williams -
- Opinion
Problematic Women: Is Abortion Really ‘Essential’ During Pandemic?
On today’s “Problematic Women” we talk with three strong problematic women about the effect COVID-19 is having on universities, abortion clinics, and your bank account. Mallory Quigley, vice president of communications at Susan B. Anthony List, explains why abortion clinics are fighting to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic. College senior Samantha Renck discusses finishing…Virginia Allen -
- News
White House Can’t Verify China’s Questionable COVID-19 Numbers
President Donald Trump said it’s difficult to know what the real number of COVID-19 cases in China is, but stressed the U.S. has a strong relationship with the country where the pandemic originated. “Their numbers seemed to be a little bit on the light side—I’m being nice when I say that—relative to what we witnessed…Fred Lucas