Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Alex Azar, HHS secretary: Donald Trump’s moves are ‘ultimate nightmare’ for Big Pharma
Health Secretary Alex Azar said President Trump's bid to tie what the U.S. government pays for certain Medicare drugs to what other nations pay won't cripple innovation or access to vital treatments, even if the plan is one of Big Pharma's "ultimate nightmares." Published October 26, 2018
Trump admin reactivates Obamacare tool after breach
The Trump administration said Friday it's reactivated an Obamacare signup tool for insurance agents and brokers after a cyber breach exposed 75,000 individuals' private files. Published October 26, 2018
Donald Trump: U.S. will pay same as other nations for select drugs
President Trump on Thursday targeted "global freeloading" by Europe, Japan and other developed nations that enjoy low prices on prescription drugs while American consumers pay more. Published October 25, 2018
Trump TV rule revealing drug prices hit by pharmaceutical industry
The pharmaceutical industry is fighting back, arguing that consumers should be able to find the price elsewhere and that few people end up paying the list price anyway. Published October 24, 2018
Donald Trump signs sweeping opioids bill, says effort will make ‘big dent’ in deadly crisis
President Trump signed a mammoth opioids bill Wednesday designed to expand treatment options, fund non-addictive painkillers and stop the flow of deadly synthetic drugs from abroad, saying the bipartisan effort will combine with his own efforts put a "big dent" in the problem. Published October 24, 2018
Alex Azar, HHS secretary: Pace of overdose deaths from opioids starting to ‘plateau’
Deaths from drug overdoses are starting to "plateau," Health and Human Service Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday, arguing that the epidemic remains dire but that President Trump's efforts are paying dividends. Published October 23, 2018
Trump admin. loosens up Obamacare waiver rules
States looking to get around Obamacare's strictures will soon be able to use federal money to help people buy cheaper, skimpier plans, so long as they don't also eliminate plans that met Obamacare's earlier requirements, the Trump administration said Monday. Published October 22, 2018
Trump admin. discloses breach on Obamacare broker tool
The Trump administration said Friday it is probing a data breach in which rogue actors accessed 75,000 individuals' files with a web tool agents and brokers use to help people enroll in Obamacare. Published October 19, 2018
HHS IG: Hospitals better prepared for Ebola after 2014 outbreak
Far more U.S. hospitals are prepared to deal with Ebola than they were in 2014, when a raging outbreak in West Africa stress-tested the American health system and forced the federal government to rewrite its guidelines for dealing with infectious diseases, a government watchdog said Friday. Published October 19, 2018
Chuck Schumer: Voters see through Donald Trump’s talk on health care
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Friday he's counting on voters to see through President Trump's rhetoric on protections for people with preexisting conditions, arguing Mr. Trump's policy foibles and hands-off approach to a lawsuit that threatens Obamacare belies his claims of "total support" for measures that shield the sick. Published October 19, 2018
Donald Trump: ‘All Republicans’ support pre-existing condition protections
President Trump leapt into the election-year fight over protections for people with pre-existing conditions Thursday, saying the GOP will defend them. Published October 18, 2018
Ralph Northam: Medicaid expansion signups to begin Nov. 1
Virginia's decision to expand Medicaid under Obamacare will make its first big splash on Nov. 1, when newly eligible people can begin enrolling in coverage that takes effect on New Year's Day, Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday. Published October 18, 2018
Health care is top issue for midterm voters: Poll
Midterm voters are mostly likely to cite health care as a leading issue, according to a Thursday poll that bolsters Democrats' decision to focus on coverage and care but says immigration and polarizing views of President Trump are crowding the message out. Published October 18, 2018
Dianne Feinstein to back new Brett Kavanaugh investigation if Democrats take Senate
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday she would support a new investigation into Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh should Democrats take control of the Senate in November's elections. Published October 17, 2018
Ebola in DRC not yet a global emergency: WHO
The World Health Organization on Wednesday said it is "deeply concerned" about the unfolding Ebola outbreak in a war-torn part of the Democratic Republic of Congo but it is not ready to declare it a global emergency. Published October 17, 2018
People more likely to forgo care in states that refused Medicaid expansion: Gov’t study
Poor adults in states that refused to expand Medicaid are more likely to say they've gone without needed medical care than those living in states that snapped up federal dollars to extend coverage, a government watchdog said Monday. Published October 15, 2018
Big pharma says it will disclose more about drug costs
The Trump administration said Monday it will force drug makers to disclose the list price of medicines in their television ads, setting up a clash with the pharmaceutical industry, which is resisting such open disclosures. Published October 15, 2018
Dianne Feinstein on track to win re-election bid in California
Republicans accused her of dirty tricks while the far left said she'd gone soft, but campaign watchers say Sen. Dianne Feinstein emerged mostly unscathed from the Supreme Court fight and is still on track to win re-election. Published October 14, 2018
Obamacare enjoys resurgence under Donald Trump
Obamacare, a program that President Trump last year declared "dead," is enjoying quite the afterlife, with insurers expanding their offerings and the average premium finally beginning to drop, albeit slightly, from astronomical levels. Published October 11, 2018
Key Obamacare rates to drop slightly in 2019
Premiums for key health plans will drop by an average of 1.5 percent on the federal marketplace in 2019, the Trump administration said Thursday, heralding an "especially gratifying" end to years of eye-popping hikes on HealthCare.gov. Published October 11, 2018
