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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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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
news
5 Keys to Unlocking Why the World Health Organization Bows to China on COVID-19
The World Health Organization is under increasing fire for its response to the deadly spread of the coronavirus, largely for repeating talking points by the Chinese Communist Party that played down the threat. The situation could prompt a congressional investigation once lawmakers reconvene, or after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic that the U.S. government… -
opinion
Don’t Fall Prey to Cybercriminals Exploiting COVID-19 Pandemic
As though things weren’t bad enough, now we learn that hackers are using the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis to attack individuals and organizations. The FBI has warned of a spike in cybercrime, as hackers have increased their activity and are using people’s need for information against them. COVID-19 has a lot of people worried and unsure… -
opinion
Government’s Role in COVID-19 Doesn’t Show Big Government Is Good
“There are no libertarians in a global pandemic.” So goes the smug punchline of large-government advocates who point to the necessity of collective action in the face of an unprecedented global crisis. Without government, they say, we’d all be dead. Few libertarians would disagree. The hardcore libertarians at Reason magazine aren’t spending their days fulminating… -
news
Watch Live: Trump’s Press Briefing on COVID-19
Do you want to hear directly from President Donald Trump and his advisers about how the fight against COVID-19 is going? Tune in here at 5 p.m. EDT and watch the president’s briefing. (Please note the White House sometimes runs late; we promise the press briefing will be right here as soon as it starts.) -
opinion
One Millennial’s Guide to COVID-19: 8 Ways to Embrace Our New Normal
Millennials have spent their formative years reading self-help books and binge-watching lifestyle video blogs. We are students of the Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, and DiSC personality tests. Our knowledge of essential oils and mindfulness techniques is second to none. Long story short, we millennials have all the tools we need to thrive while social distancing. I get… -
opinion
Multifaceted Response to COVID-19 Reflects Trump’s Dramatic Health Policy Reforms
Critics of President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis characterize it as “knee-jerk,” “spur of the moment,” and “grasping at any straw within reach.” In fact, many of the recent executive actions we have seen reflect a new approach to health policy that has been underway almost since the day Trump was sworn into…