Skip to content

Listen Now

Threat Status podcast: The Pentagon-Silicon Valley divide and who blinks first on AI?

TRENDING:
Donald Trump
Advertisement

Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr. covers politics and the White House for The Washington Times. He can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Donald Trump-backed right-to-try bill falters in House

Democrats blocked a bill Tuesday that would have let dying patients try medicines that haven't won full regulatory approval, saying they worry about cutting the federal government out of oversight. Published March 13, 2018

"The House will not let this be the end. We will try again, pass legislation, and bring hope to those whose only desire is the right to try to live," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said.

House Democrats block patients ‘right to try’ bill

Democrats blocked a bill Tuesday that would have let dying patients try medicines that haven't won full regulatory approval, saying they worried about cutting the federal government out of oversight. Published March 13, 2018

In this June 15, 2017, file photo, then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Health and Human Services Department's fiscal 2018 budget. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ** FILE **

Tom Price, ousted health secretary, repaid $60K for his travel

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price wrote checks totaling $60,000 to repay taxpayers for pricey plane trips that cost him his job, though Democratic investigators aren't satisfied, saying White House counselor Kellyanne Conway accompanied him and should account for the costs of her seat. Published March 13, 2018

In this file photo, Seema Verma, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, signs paperwork at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., on Monday, March 5, 2018, that gives the state permission to require that thousands of people on its Medicaid expansion seek ways to work or volunteer. In March 2018, Ms. Verma rejected the state of Idaho's proposals for a workaround of Obamacare regulations. (AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel)

Idaho finds silver lining in Verma’s rejection letter

Idaho officials on Friday said a federal letter that rebuffed their plan to implement a workaround of Obamacare is actually an "invitation" to keep talking about ways to offer cheaper health insurance. Published March 9, 2018

Health care providers need incentives to become more transparent and consumers should know the costs of procedures before they undergo them, the Health and Human Services secretary said. (Associated Press/File)

Alex Azar: Americans need access to health care costs, records

The Trump administration will push the American health care system to let consumers know the true costs of medical services, giving them more say in decisions that emphasize "value over volume," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told insurers Thursday. Published March 8, 2018

In this Dec. 15, 2017, file photo, the HealthCare.gov website is photographed in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick) ** FILE **

Obamacare rates set to spike 12 to 32 percent next year: Study

Premiums under Obamacare will increase from 12 percent to 32 percent next year unless the federal government steps in, according to a new study that examines the fallout from President Trump's attempts to chip away at the program. Published March 8, 2018

"Today's health care system is simply not delivering outcomes commensurate with its cost — President Trump knows it, and the American people know it too," said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. (Associated Press/File)

HHS tells insurers to gird for radical change in health delivery

The Trump administration is committed to transforming the health care system into one that emphasizes value over marathon tests with hazy prices, while empowering consumers to find doctors and services the way they find restaurants on Yelp or Open Table, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told health insurers Thursday. Published March 8, 2018

Mainers for Health Care rally outside the State House prior to Gov. Paul LePage's State of the State address, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, in Augusta, Maine. The coalition that supported the successful Yes on 2 campaign to expand Medicaid in 2017 say LePage and his allies in the Legislature are trying to block Medicaid expansion, which is now state law. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Obamacare premiums to increase over Congressional disagreements

Everyone in Washington wants to slash health insurance premiums under Obamacare, but key players can't seem to agree on the terms, leaving the push in jeopardy even as insurers try to size up the program and set rates for the coming year. Published March 7, 2018

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar recently said medication-assisted treatment is a proven method for treating addicted people, yet only a third of substance abuse programs offer it. (Associated Press/File)

CDC: ER visits for opioid overdose up 30 percent in recent year

Emergency room visits from opioid overdoses spiked by 30 percent across the U.S. from mid-2016 to late 2017, the government said in a sobering report Tuesday that underscored the need for resources to reel in a worsening crisis. Published March 6, 2018

Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks at a news conference Monday, March 5, 2018, at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., with Seema Verma, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Verma on Monday approved a state plan to require that thousands of people on its Medicaid expansion seek ways to work or volunteer. Traditional Medicaid recipients are not affected. Arkansas is the third state to win permission, following Kentucky and Indiana. (AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel)

Donald Trump approves Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas

The Trump administration approved Arkansas's request to impose a work requirement on thousands of Medicaid enrollees, but put off a decision on the state's controversial request to be able to do an Obamacare-lite expansion. Published March 5, 2018

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., testifies during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the nomination of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to become the US ambassador to Russia, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ** FILE **

Joe Manchin proposes changes to 2016 opioids law

Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia filed legislation Monday that would rewrite a controversial 2016 law that made it more difficult for the Drug Enforcement Administration to suspend shipments of opioids that could be diverted to the illicit market. Published March 5, 2018

Dr. Anne Schuchat, acting director, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is collecting data from emergency rooms, rather than waiting for death certificates, to study opioid overdoses. (Associated Press/File)

Anne Schuchat, CDC chief, tackles opioid crisis

Dr. Anne Schuchat joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the late 1980s after her post-medical school training coincided with the rise of the HIV/AIDS crisis, giving her a firsthand look at a public health crisis. Published March 4, 2018

"I think we've been involved more than any administration, by far," President Trump said at a White House summit on the opioid and heroin crisis. (Associated Press/File)

Donald Trump comforts opioids survivors, vows tough fight

President Trump on Thursday comforted those who lost children to the opioids epidemic and decried "weak" U.S. penalties against drug pushers, saying countries with harsher penalties, including executions, have less of a problem. Published March 1, 2018

First lady Melania Trump speaks at the White House Opioid Summit in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, Thursday, March 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Melania Trump: ‘Much more work to be done’ on opioids

First Lady Melania Trump kicked off an opioids summit Thursday by saying she is "so proud" of the administration's efforts to combat addiction but that far too many Americans still need treatment, a shoulder to cry on and belief they're not alone in the fight. Published March 1, 2018

In this Wednesday, April 5, 2017, file photo, Dr. Scott Gottlieb speaks during his confirmation hearing before a Senate committee, in Washington, as President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Feds take on clinical, commercial roots of opioids crisis

Food and Drug Administrator Scott Gottlieb said Thursday his agency will be "very aggressive" in warning consumers about opioid-related products or taking them off the market, noting for too long, people thought the U.S. drug epidemic was welling up from the illicit heroin market. Published March 1, 2018