Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: US Can Learn A Lot From Sweden's Handling Of Covid; Medicaid Cliff Is Nothing Short Of Scandalous
The New York Times: How Did No-Mandate Sweden End Up With Such An Average Pandemic?
If you know one thing about Sweden’s pandemic, it is almost certainly that the country followed a radical, contrarian public health path. Its hands-off approach to Covid-19 mitigation — no stay-at-home orders to begin with, and no mask mandates later on — was one that many on the pandemic left quickly derided as sadistic public policy and many on the pandemic right praised as enlightened. (David Wallace-Wells, 3/30)
The Washington Post: The Great Medicaid Purge Begins
The Great Medicaid Purge begins this weekend. Starting at midnight Saturday, the first of an expected 15 million people will be kicked off Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). (Catherine Rampell, 3/30)
The Washington Post: The GOP Is Playing Catch-Up On Health Care. It Needs Some Fresh Ideas.
Just a few years ago, Republicans were clamoring to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Today, not only has opposition to the law largely disappeared from the party’s messaging, but some Republican states are using it to expand Medicaid, as North Carolina did this week. (Henry Olsen, 3/30)
Houston Chronicle: Health Care Costs More In The U.S. So Why Are We Less Healthy?
Between 1980 and 2020, national health expenditures, paid by government, business, and families, increased from $253 billion (8.9 percent of the United States' gross domestic product) to $4.1 trillion (19.7 percent of GDP). But what results did we see as we ramped up spending over 40 years? (Elena Marks, 3/31)
The New Republic: It’s 2023, And Conservatives Are Still Trying To Sue Obamacare Out Of Existence
It is with a heavy heart that I must report that Judge Reed O’Connor is at it again. The Texas-based federal judge struck down a major part of the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, this time targeting a provision that required health insurers to cover certain preventive care measures at no cost. (Matt Ford, 3/30)
The Star Tribune: Defunding Abortion Myths Would Benefit Women
The Positive Pregnancies Act, a bill before the Minnesota Legislature that would reform the state's program for the funding of crisis pregnancy centers, has drawn attention to a host of pressure tactics deployed by the state-funded antiabortion facilities through a program established under the Republican administration of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. (Paul John Scott, 3/30)
Dallas Morning News: Texas Fentanyl Fight Is Getting Bipartisan Support
There are few issues so pressing now as protecting Texans from fentanyl overdoses. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that fentanyl-related overdoses in our state rose by 399% between 2019 and 2021. (3/31)
