
Top 5 Health Care Takeaways From the 2020 General Election
Although a winner has yet to be declared in the 2020 presidential race, several ballot measures and state level races yielded results with major implications in the health care field. Below is a list of the most influential health care–related outcomes of the 2020 elections.
As US hospitalizations for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hit 50,000—
Although a winner has yet to be declared in the 2020 presidential race, several ballot measures and state level races yielded results with major implications in the health care field. Below is a list of the most influential health care–related outcomes of the 2020 elections.
1. Colorado and Louisiana Adopt Opposing Stances on Abortion
Over 60% of Louisiana voters approved an amendment proposing adding language to the state’s constitution ensuring it does not protect abortion as a right, NPR
In Colorado, voters rejected
2. Oregon Decriminalizes Possession of Small Amounts of Drugs
Oregon became the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, The Associated Press
Voters in Oregon also approved an initiative to legalize therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms, making it the first state to legalize such a measure. Psilocybin has been decriminalized by multiple cities in the state, and the measure creates a
3. CA Voters Lean Toward Refunding Stem Cell Agency
As of 12 PM on November 4, voters in the state of California are leaning toward refunding the state’s first-of-its-kind stem cell research program, according to
Proposition 14 would allow for an infusion of $5.5 billion of borrowed money from a bond sale into the program. The funding would effectively bail out the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, created by a similar $3 billion bond measure in 2014. Supporters of the measure say the funding is crucial to continue the state’s dozens of clinical trials on the use of stem cells in cancer, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson disease. Opponents argue California cannot afford to take on the debt during the COVID-19 economic crisis.
4. Thom Tillis Leads North Carolina Senate Election
With 94% of votes counted, Republican Senator Thom Tillis holds a
Tillis is also one of the pharmaceutical industry’s strongest allies in congress as the senator is among the leading recipients of drug industry political action committee contributions, STAT News
5. Doctors Head to Congress
Kansas’ Republican Representative Roger Marshall beat his Democratic opponent Barbara Bollier, who, if she were elected, would have become the first
Ronny Jackson, a Republican and former White House physician also won a Texas congressional seat, representing one of the most conservative districts in the country. Jackson began his work in the White House under President George W. Bush and served as President Barack Obama’s physician. Although President Donald Trump nominated Jackson to be his second Veterans Affairs secretary, Jackson withdrew from consideration due to allegations he drank on the job, overprescribed medication, and created a hostile work environment,
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