Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biggest Champion Of 'Medicare For All' Bernie Sanders Ends Presidential Campaign
Modern Healthcare: Medicare For All Champion Bernie Sanders Drops Out Of Presidential Race
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a fierce advocate for Medicare for All, dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary Wednesday. Sanders' (I-Vt.) exit leaves former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Biden has advocated bolstering the Affordable Care Act and creating a public insurance option. (Cohrs, 4/8)
The Washington Post: For Generation Z, The Coronavirus Crisis Is Validation Of Its Liberal Politics
High school senior Emma Rehac can’t help but feel resentful as leaders across the country scramble to keep families afloat through mounting unemployment and an unprecedented public health crisis. She hears politicians looking for emergency cures to problems she and other activists were talking about long before anyone had heard of covid-19: affordable housing, utility shut-offs and health-care access among them. Now Rehac, 18, is trying to get unemployment benefits after losing her part-time teaching job at a school closed during the novel coronavirus outbreak. (Knowles, 4/8)
The New York Times: Republicans Pursue Limits On Voting By Mail, Despite The Coronavirus
President Trump and his Republican allies are launching an aggressive strategy to fight what many of the administration’s own health officials view as one of the most effective ways to make voting safer amid the deadly spread of Covid-19: the expanded use of mail-in ballots. The scene Tuesday of Wisconsinites in masks and gloves gathering in long lines to vote, after Republicans sued to defeat extended, mail-in ballot deadlines, did not deter the president and top officials in his party. Republican leaders said they were pushing ahead to fight state-level statutes that could expand absentee balloting in Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona and elsewhere. (Rutenberg, Haberman and Corasaniti, 4/8)
The Wall Street Journal: Trump Tweet Highlights Divide Over Voting By Mail
A political battle over voting by mail is building, as Democrats push for the option to reduce public gatherings in response to the coronavirus pandemic and President Trump vocally opposes such a shift in election practices. The president has criticized voting by mail multiple times recently, claiming it allows for fraud. Researchers have found rare instances of absentee voter fraud, but studies show it isn’t widespread. “Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it,” Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday. “Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans.” (Corse, 4/8)
