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Connecting today’s news with the research & opinion you need.

Don’t Panic

What to Know: COVID-19 cases continue to increase in number.

The TPPF Take: The good news is with the proper precautions, we are in a strong position to tackle this.

"So, why the huge differences in diagnosed cases and mortality, and what does that mean for America? Important factors to consider are government (both competence and transparency), the state of the health-care system (the number of people tested and its critical care system), and the affected population (its age and health),” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Some good news is that the U.S. has almost three times the critical care beds per capita as does Italy, more than triple what South Korea has (where the death rate may be close to that of the flu, depending on the number of mild, undiagnosed and therefore, unreported, cases), and almost 10 times that in China.”

Still a Bad Idea

What to Know: Grocers and pharmacists say now is a particularly bad time for Congress to pass a mandatory paid sick leave bill—just when grocery stores and pharmacies are needed the most.

The TPPF Take: It’s wrong to use a public health emergency to push bad policies.

“The truth is that a vast majority of employers in America do provide some form of paid leave,” says TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “But those decisions are best left to employers and their employees.”

A Win for Obamacare

What to Know: Former Vice President Joe Biden’s win in his party’s Florida primary cements his place as the Democratic frontrunner—and deals a blow to the Medicare-for-All plans of his rivals.

The TPPF Take: The Affordable Care Act never lived up to its many, many promises, such as more care at a lower cost. Now Biden plans to broaden it.

“In seeking to simply expand coverage, the ACA made health care extraordinarily expensive,” says TPPF’s David Balat. “The law became a boon to special interest insurance corporations and created powerful middlemen that contribute to the high prices. Many Americans remain uninsured because out-of-pocket costs are too high and the value too low even when they are qualified or eligible to participate in programs that subsidize their premiums.”