On Wednesday, the U.S. government shutdown entered its thirty-sixth day, becoming the longest on record. At the crux of the budget impasse are disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over health care. Democrats want the funding bill to include an extension of enhanced tax credits that make health insurance more affordable, as well as a reversal of President Donald Trump's recent cuts to Medicaid. Republicans, on the other hand, prefer to negotiate health-care policy separately from the continuing resolution.
To unpack how federal insurance programs affect health-care quality, TGH Data Visuals Editor Allison Krugman analyzes a new study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that measures what policy levers drive better health-care performance by U.S. county.
Next, the edition pivots to U.S. policy on foreign aid. Released in September, the America First Global Health Strategy sets a goal of decreasing U.S. funding and moving most countries toward full self-reliance over the course of time-sensitive bilateral agreements, write KFF's Jennifer Kates and researchers Debbie Stenoien, Michael Ruffner, and Allyala Nandakumar. Kates and her coauthors outline the questions the strategy raises around service continuity, financing, and access.
Checking on the Pandemic Agreement, the Université de Montréal's Timothée Poisot and Yale University's Colin J. Carlson suggest that, for World Health Organization (WHO) members to settle terms for pathogen access benefit sharing, they will need a trustworthy database for sharing viral samples.
Speaking of pathogens, and in case you missed it, Think Global Health has launched a new global tracker for vaccine-preventable disease.
Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor, and Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor
