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
Coronavirus Outbreak Is Bad News for Ukraine’s Economy
KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine has so far been spared from a major coronavirus outbreak. The country’s economy, however, is far less quarantined from the disease’s global impact. Responsible for the disease now known as COVID-19, the new coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China. According to the World Health Organization, the global number of infected people is now over… -
news
Trump Administration Aims to Calm Coronavirus Fears on Economic, Health Fronts
President Donald Trump announced Monday evening that he will push Congress for a payroll tax cut to stem concerns about the coronavirus that sent the stock market into a spiral earlier in the day. Trump also pledged he would push for hourly wage earners to be able to take off work without fear of losing… -
opinion
Coronavirus Shows Government Paid Leave a Bad Fit for Employees’ Needs
Democrats have used the coronavirus to point to why the U.S. needs a government-paid family leave program (such as the FAMILY Act), so that employees can take time off from their jobs without losing much-needed paychecks. Well, in Washington state (which has the most reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. thus far), “It’s Here. It’s… -
opinion
The President’s Dangerous Coronavirus Position
It’s rare that President Donald Trump ever seems to misread a communications matter. From the earliest 2016 debates, it became clear that he is a lot better at communicating with the American people than your standard-issue Republican politician. He’s also a master at the media game. The liberal press would never admit it, but he’s… -
opinion
Economy Adds 273,000 Jobs as Coronavirus Brings New Uncertainty
In the face of uncertainty because of the coronavirus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shattered expert predictions Friday, reporting that the economy added 273,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate is back to the lowest rate since 1969, and Americans continue to see more money in their paychecks. This jobs report helps demonstrate that the… -
opinion
Why We’ve Got to Get the Coronavirus Response Right
The Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak thus far has been robust as the disease that originated in Wuhan, China, spreads across the world. Through a combination of travel restrictions, quarantines, and keeping the public informed on the best public hygiene practices, the administration has focused on slowing the entry of the disease into… -
opinion
What We Don’t Know About the Coronavirus Is What Scares Us
The recent spread of the coronavirus is causing a global panic. Our shared terror arises not so much from the death toll of the new flu-like disease—more than 3,000 people have died worldwide—but from what we don’t know about it. Experts at least agree that the virus originated in China. But Beijing’s authoritarian government hid… -
opinion
Trump Sees Coronavirus as a Catalyst, Not a Threat
True to form, President Donald Trump signaled confidence in his remarks addressing the threat of the coronavirus. He was correct when he mentioned that the average American is not at risk of imminent harm from the virus. And he correctly pointed out that far more people die annually from the common flu than have been… -
opinion
Coronavirus Doesn’t Change Good Economic Policy
The fundamentals of the U.S. economy are still strong, and the coronavirus won’t change that. Good policy also doesn’t change in a crisis, and Congress and the president can pursue worthwhile economic reforms to strengthen the economy today, and if necessary, hasten an economic recovery. The disruptions from a widespread pandemic are not fixable with… -
news
8 Developments in the Trump Administration’s Response to Coronavirus
President Donald Trump on Tuesday visited the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center to learn more about the fight against the coronavirus. “You have to confront it,” Trump said of the disease. “You have to do a lot of good work.” About 2% of those known to be infected with the coronavirus have died,… -
news
What It’s Like to Travel Internationally During the Coronavirus Outbreak
KYIV, Ukraine—After the Lufthansa airliner landed at Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport, the Airbus A320 jet taxied to the jet bridge and parked. Then flight attendants told the passengers on board to keep their seats. A few minutes later, a pair of officials with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, wearing protective clothing and face masks, boarded… -
opinion
Coronavirus Becomes Latest Excuse for Mass Hysteria
We go from hysteria to hysteria. And even that’s not quite accurate. We now endure multiple hysterias at once. The latest, of course, is COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus. In addition to China, where the virus originated, major cities in Italy and Japan are in lockdown mode, and Japan has closed all its schools…. -
opinion
Abortion, Separation-of-Powers Cases Go Before Supreme Court
The Supreme Court will hear cases this week involving hospital admitting privileges for abortion doctors and a separation-of-powers question at the nation’s consumer protection agency. The high court returned from its winter break in late February after a monthlong hiatus. Earlier this term, the nine justices heard arguments in cases involving the Second Amendment, school… -
news
Coronavirus Update: 6 US Deaths, Over 3,000 Deaths Worldwide
The coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 3,000 persons worldwide, including two Americans, as of Monday morning. [Washington state officials announced four more deaths there later in the day.] Despite government-issued travel warnings and restrictions, the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the world. Two people in Washington died from the virus, according to the Washington State Department… -
opinion
Fact Check: Did Trump Call Coronavirus a ‘Hoax’?
Politico published an article reporting that President Donald Trump called the novel coronavirus a “hoax” in a speech Friday in South Carolina. “Trump rallies his base to treat coronavirus as a ‘hoax,'” reads the headline. Verdict: False Trump referred to “politicizing” of the coronavirus by Democrats as “their new hoax.” He did not refer to… -
news
Fighting Coronavirus Means ‘Keeping Sick People Out,’ Homeland Security Chief Says
The Trump administration is facing the coronavirus by preparing for the worst and aggressively pushing forward to tackle the disease, including “keeping sick people out of this country,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Saturday. “At the Department of Homeland Security, our main mission when we talk about the coronavirus is to make sure… -
news
Border Security Key to Curbing Coronavirus, Cuccinelli Says
Defending the southern border is a key part of protecting the United States from the coronavirus, a top U.S. immigration official said Friday. A border crisis could exacerbate a pandemic, said Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of homeland security and a member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force. But the disease doesn’t currently pose… -
news
Socialism, Not Coronavirus, Seen as Real Threat to Economy
The stock market has taken a hit amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, but the disease doesn’t pose a real danger to the economy, chief White House economist Larry Kudlow said Friday in an appearance before an annual gathering of conservative activists. “A virus is not going to sink the economy,” Kudlow,… -
opinion
Coronavirus Spreads to Europe and Middle East. What That Means for This Global Health Crisis.
Now that the coronavirus has broken out of China and established a foothold in Europe and the Middle East, many are on edge. This week, the stock market, for one, jumped off a cliff—something it is wont to do when faced with global uncertainty. While nothing about this global health emergency is certain, we can predict with a high… -
news
Only 3 Senate Democrats Vote to Protect Babies Who Survive Abortion
In a setback to pro-life activists, the Senate on Tuesday defeated one bill that would require medical care for babies who survive abortion and another that would prohibit late-term abortions. Only three Democrats voted to protect abortion survivors. “This body ought to be able to stand 100 to zero against that barbarism,” Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.,…