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Russia’s assaults on Ukraine took the headlines for President Joe Biden’s first official State of the Union handle, however Biden made a degree to spotlight a number of of the administration’s high-priority well being points, together with covid, psychological well being, nursing residence regulation, and illnesses amongst navy personnel from poisonous burn pits.
Additionally this week, the Biden administration unveiled a program aimed toward getting the nation higher ready ought to one other covid surge happen. Congress can be beginning work on pandemic preparation laws, though some lawmakers could be reluctant to spend nonetheless extra money on the trouble.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Amy Goldstein of The Washington Publish, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet.
Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:
- The Biden administration’s proposals to enhance nursing residence care are a byproduct of the covid pandemic. Almost 1 / 4 of the 975,000 deaths on this nation have been amongst folks residing or working in nursing properties.
- However the proposed adjustments will hit a tough actuality: Nursing properties face extreme labor shortages. Recruiting staff is a problem due to the troublesome work concerned, the dangers of covid, and the meager common pay.
- Enhancements to nursing residence care could be anticipated to take time. Some proposals will want congressional funding, and though nursing residence security has common bipartisan help, there are a lot of pursuits competing for federal {dollars}. As well as, making adjustments via regulation is a time-consuming course of.
- Biden additionally emphasised in his State of the Union speech the compelling want to spice up psychological well being providers within the nation, following issues reminiscent of elevated suicides, melancholy amongst kids, and opioid dependence, all of which have been compounded by the pandemic.
- Among the many notable well being care omissions in Biden’s speech was a push for brand spanking new Medicare advantages and the growth of Medicaid in a number of conservative states which have held off on accepting that possibility beneath the Inexpensive Care Act. Each controversial insurance policies are prized by Democratic stalwarts, however they have been provisions that helped stall the president’s Construct Again Higher laws.
- Following the State of the Union handle, the administration rolled out plans to combat the covid virus long run and set the nation on a much less risky course to deal with furture outbreaks. The plan would additionally require congressional funding, however the administration has decreased its expectations due to bipartisan considerations in Congress about general covid spending.
- Though masks mandates are lifting throughout the nation and covid circumstances have fallen dramatically, the administration is nervous about spiking the soccer too quickly. Officers nonetheless are feeling repercussions from final summer season, once they steered that the arrival of a vaccine and declining sickness signaled the nation was previous the worst of the pandemic. The delta and omicron variants rapidly proved them improper.
- The Senate has did not advance the Ladies’s Well being Safety Act, a invoice designed to make sure girls have the best to abortion if the Supreme Courtroom have been to upend the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution. The measure didn’t come near getting the 60 votes wanted within the Senate to cease a filibuster and didn’t draw even all of the Democratic votes.
- Some opponents of the Ladies’s Well being Safety Act argue it goes too far past the protections of Roe, reminiscent of permitting minors to hunt an abortion with out parental involvement.
- As advocates and opponents gear up for a attainable Supreme Courtroom resolution later this 12 months that adjustments Roe, consideration has turned to medical abortions. Many conservative states are working to limit entry to these tablets, however a authorized battle could also be brewing over whether or not a state has the authority to restrict drugs accredited by the FDA.
Plus, for further credit score, the panelists suggest their favourite well being coverage tales of the week they suppose you need to learn, too:
Julie Rovner: The Wall Avenue Journal’s “Why Is Everyone Standing So Close? Personal-Space Boundaries Shifted During the Pandemic,” by Alex Janin
Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Instances’ “Time Is Running Out to Avert a Harrowing Future, Climate Panel Warns,” by Brad Plumer, Raymond Zhong, and Lisa Friedman
Amy Goldstein: The Washington Publish’s “Ukraine Conflict Could Spark Surges of Covid, Polio, Other Diseases, Say Experts,” by Loveday Morris and Dan Diamond
Sarah Karlin-Smith: KHN’s “Covid Expert Joins Exodus Into Business, Where Science Parlays Into Profits,” by Jay Hancock
Additionally mentioned on this week’s podcast:
KHN’s “Biden’s Promise of Better Nursing Home Care Will Require Many More Workers,” by Jordan Rau
KHN’s “Biden Pledges Better Nursing Home Care, but He Likely Won’t Fast-Track It,” by Rachana Pradhan and Harris Meyer
The Washington Publish’s “Most Americans Say the Coronavirus Is Not Yet Under Control and Support Restrictions to Try to Manage It, Post-ABC Poll Finds,” by Amy Goldstein and Emily Guskin
The New York Instances’ “Abortion Pills Now Account for More Than Half of U.S. Abortions,” by Pam Belluck
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