With Carmen Paun
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— Democrats’ social spending proposal represents a sweeping expansion of the health safety net — as well as a reminder that they could have gone even bigger.
— Trump-era health officials knew Novavax faced serious issues making its Covid-19 vaccine as early as fall 2020, but decided to stick with the company anyway.
— An early decision to exclude pregnant people from Covid-19 vaccine trials ended up clearing the way for one of the pandemic’s most entrenched avenues of misinformation.
WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE — where more than a year-and-a-half into our remote work existence, Rep. Katie Porter is still finding new ways to liven up Congress’ Zoom-style hearings.
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THE TWO TRUTHS ABOUT DEMS’ SPENDING BILL — Even in a deeply divided Washington where progress is increasingly measured in absolutes, there are times when two things can be true about a single piece of legislation. Democrats’ $1.75 trillion spending bill is one of them.
Truth one: Democrats are on the verge of the most significant strengthening of the health safety net since Obamacare.
From Medicare to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act to care at home, the health elements of the package are as sweeping as they are consequential. The legislation would mean extending access to hearing aids to millions of older Americans, and coverage for the roughly 4 million in red states who are too poor to afford private insurance – but not poor enough to qualify for base-level Medicaid.
Obamacare would be further …….