Jill Burcum

Minneapolis

Editorial Writer at The Minnesota Star Tribune

Star Tribune opinion writer on health care. Applying Minnesota mom sensibilities to coverage: don't fib, don't be mean & you better have done your homework.

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Articles

Minnesota's tragedy fuels political trolls instead of unity

1 week ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

A growing memorial for former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were fatally shot in their Brooklyn Park home on Saturday, sits in front of the State Capitol in St. Paul on Sunday. (Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Fierce but compassionate mental health advocate will be missed

3 weeks ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

Opinion editor's note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. I say this as a compliment. In more than three decades as a journalist, it's the occasional phone calls from Sue Abderholden that have left me feeling the most frustrated and outraged. It's not because of any policy disagreement.
'Big Beautiful Bill' takes hatchet to health care

1 month ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson listens after the House narrowly passed a bill advancing President Donald Trump's agenda at the Capitol on May 22. (Kevin Dietsch /Tribune News Service)
'Why would we make it harder to get help' for addiction?

1 month ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

An outreach worker shows nasal Narcan, also known as naloxone, in New York in 2023. (HILARY SWIFT/The New York Times)"What if you are in AA or another fellowship group and are not in treatment and did not receive an official diagnosis? How do you prove your substance use disorder?"The bottom line: There are additional barriers to treatment even with the exemption. Said LaBelle: "At a time when we're seeing a reduction in overdose deaths, why would we make it harder to get help?"
Don't rush the decision on undocumented immigrant health coverage

1 month ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

This is indeed a thorny issue, with the wrong moves leaving people uninsured and hammering hospital finances at a critical time. My prescription: Convene a task force to study the issue and report back next year with more details and data. Let's proceed with care and get it right.
Stauber sweetens sweetheart deal for Chilean mining firm

1 month ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

Opinion editor's note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. President Donald Trump fortunately didn't include northeast Minnesota's risky Twin Metals copper-nickel mine on a recent executive order aiming to fast-track projects like this. But any sigh of relief about that by Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) advocates came to a quick end this week as Minnesota U.S. House Rep.
A pair of 'big muddy boots to fill'

1 month ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

Jeff Broberg, photographed here in 2021, points to topsoil on his farm in Elba Township in southeast Minnesota. (Dennis Anderson/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Running toward, not away from, the battle over vaccines

1 month ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

Opinion editor's note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. Leading medical experts shouldn't have to band together to push back against reckless vaccine rhetoric and maneuvers coming from unqualified political appointees at the highest levels of government. But here we are. Actions like the effort Osterholm is spearheading are sorely needed to meet this moment and safeguard vaccine use. Vaccine skeptic Robert F.
About that so-called 'pill penalty'

2 months ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

Flyers urge consumers to take action beneficial to the pharmaceutical industry. But the campaign completely misses the bigger threat to new drug development: massive research cuts.
Cosplay Kristi preens instead of fixing a grievous error

2 months ago | startribune.com | Jill Burcum

Opinion editor's note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. There's zero middle ground when it comes to former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's political instincts. Noem's calculated moves have vaulted her from rancher to the U.S. House to the Mt. Rushmore state's CEO to her current gig as secretary of Homeland Security. It's hard to argue with that success.