Different Takes: Pros, Cons Of Administration’s Medicaid Proposal; America Is Failing Children, Especially Children Of Color

The Washington Post: On Health Care, Is Trump Malicious Or Just Incompetent? Yes.
Is the problem incompetence or malice? When it comes to the Trump administration’s terrible health-care agenda, the answer appears to be both. At least, that’s the takeaway from Vice President Pence’s comments at an Iowa diner last week, when he appeared to not know that his administration is working to cut, rather than expand, health coverage for the poor. (Catherine Rampell, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Medicaid Benefit
Democrats are rolling out their old health-scare playbook to attack the Trump Administration’s Medicaid block-grant proposal last week that would give states more flexibility in exchange for limits on federal funds. Irony alert: The biggest beneficiaries could be Democratic states and low-income Americans. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in a letter last week invited state Medicaid directors to apply for block grants under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act. That law allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve state “demonstration projects” to experiment with plan designs, payment models and delivery. (2/3)

The Hill: As Long As Our Children Suffer, The State Of Our Union Should Embarrass Us All
A society should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable and most valuable members: its children. By that measure, we do not need this week’s State of the Union address from the president to tell us what is abundantly clear: The state of our union is shamefully inadequate. A new report released Monday by our research team at the Children’s Defense Fund reveals how seriously America is failing its children. (Max Lesko, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: The Truth About The ‘Public Charge’ Immigration Rule
The Supreme Court last week lifted a nationwide injunction against Trump administration regulations imposing tougher standards for aliens attempting to prove that they won’t become “public charges.” Under the old guidelines, established during the Clinton era, only cash assistance or long-term institutional care could be considered strikes against applicants. Only a few hundred applicants were refused under the public charge provision world-wide each year. (Dave Seminara, 2/3)

The Hill: The FDA Must Do More To Ensure Our Food Is Safe
When we order a salad out at a restaurant, we assume it’s safe to eat. At the very least, we don’t expect it to put our health or even our life at risk. But that’s precisely what happened to William Whit one day when he went out to lunch with friends and opted for what seemed like the healthy route at a pizza place. Whit ordered a salad and, soon after, began experiencing severe stomach discomfort. Eventually, after his condition worsened, he ended up in the hospital. The doctors spent days trying to figure out how an otherwise-healthy man became sick so quickly, before finally realizing that the lettuce he consumed was contaminated with E. coli. (Dylan Robb, 2/3)