Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Republican health care plan breaks all of Donald Trump’s campaign vows
President Trump vowed to have health care coverage for everybody, to cut costs and to leave Medicaid alone during his historic romp to the White House, but the Republican health care plan he has endorsed would flout each of those promises. Published March 14, 2017
Chuck Schumer: GOP is attacking ‘the referee’ as they lose the health reform game
Leading Democrats on Tuesday accused Republicans of attacking congressional bean-counters simply because their health care plan fell short of their own promises to the American people. Published March 14, 2017
CBO: Republican health plan will lead to 24M fewer insured by 2026, save more than $300B
Republicans' plan to repeal and replace Obamacare would cut spending by more than $300 billion over the next decade but would result in 24 million fewer people holding health insurance, Congress' official scorekeeper said Monday, creating another political hurdle for President Trump and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill. Published March 13, 2017
Health care plan by Republicans gets resistance from hospitals, activist groups
The House GOP plan to replace Obamacare survived its first week on Capitol Hill, but everyone from the AARP to the American Lung Association is lining up against the plan, suggesting the tough road Republicans have ahead of them. Published March 12, 2017
House GOP leaders pitch Obamacare replacement plan to holdouts as a ‘first step’
House Republican leaders sold their Obamacare replacement plan Friday as a "thoughtful foundation" for future reforms that will drive down health costs, heaping pressure on GOP holdouts who say the plan doesn't go far enough. Published March 10, 2017
GOP Obamacare plan clears first hurdles
Republicans powered their Obamacare repeal-and-replace plan through two committees Thursday, maintaining unity -- at least for now -- as President Trump rebuked naysayers and said the ugly health care debate will end with a "beautiful picture." Published March 9, 2017
Conservatives support Medicaid changes to Obamacare plan
An influential bloc of House conservatives backed two proposed changes to the Obamacare replacement plan Thursday, saying it could soften their general opposition to the broader GOP proposal. Published March 9, 2017
Rand Paul deflects Trump tweets, revives 2015 Obamacare effort
President Trump's attempt to cyber-cajole Sen. Rand Paul into supporting the House GOP's health plan appears to have only emboldened the Kentucky Republican, who on Thursday said he reintroduced his "clean repeal" of Obamacare. Published March 9, 2017
GOP leaders urge troops to heed Trump, back Obamacare replacement
Democrats mounted ferocious resistance Wednesday to the Republican health care plan, erecting roadblocks in committees and attempting to shut down the House floor, saying the party's lawmakers are plowing ahead without knowing what the Obamacare replacement will cost or how many people will lose insurance coverage. Published March 8, 2017
Health care replacement by Republicans criticized by conservatives and moderates
It took seven years to write, but House Republicans' Obamacare replacement plan began to unwind Tuesday after less than a day in the public eye. Published March 7, 2017
Conservatives demand seat at health reform table
Saying Obamacare repeal is what unites Republicans, a faction of House and Senate conservatives urged GOP leaders Tuesday to kill off the 2010 law and debate the next steps separately, rather than rushing ahead with a replacement bill that falls short in their eyes. Published March 7, 2017
Mike Pence touts House GOP health care plan
Vice President Mike Pence made clear Tuesday that a House GOP plan is the "framework" for moving ahead with President Trump's promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. Published March 7, 2017
GOP leaders tout health plan, citing Trump endorsement
President Trump's health secretary on Tuesday applauded a House GOP plan to begin repealing and replacing Obamacare's federal mandates with set of tax credits and market incentives to get people covered, saying it aligns with the administration's goal of "rescuing" people from the struggling law. Published March 7, 2017
Republican Health care plan details repeal of Obamacare mandate, taxes
House Republicans released a long-awaited plan Monday to reduce the federal footprint in health care by repealing Obamacare's unpopular mandates, replacing its subsidies with a new form of tax credits and gradually overhauling the Medicaid insurance program for the poor. Published March 6, 2017
Obamacare dismantlement plan getting finishing touches by Republicans
Republicans are racing to put the finishing touches on a health care plan that may need sweetening to avert an ugly clash with conservatives who have blasted the effort as secretive and substandard, as House leaders enter a three-week sink-or-swim stretch for unifying around a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Published March 5, 2017
Mike Pence: We’re ‘putting the finishing touches’ on health plan over weekend
Vice President Mike Pence on Friday said the Trump administration is "putting the finishing touches" on the GOP's plan to overhaul health care, projecting a sense of party unity even as conservatives balk at the emerging plan as "Obamacare lite." Published March 3, 2017
Rand Paul: Told to ‘take it or leave it’ on Obamacare strategy
Sen. Rand Paul on Friday said conservatives are being told to "take it or leave it" when it comes to the emerging House GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, setting up a major clash with leaders hoping to mark up legislation as soon as next week. Published March 3, 2017
Obamacare repeal bill gets locked away by Republicans
The Capitol Hill debate over health care shifted Thursday from what's in an Obamacare repeal bill to how it's being crafted, as Democrats and at least one Republican senator accused House Republicans of squirreling away the latest version of their plan because it falls short of party promises or amounts to "Obamacare lite." Published March 2, 2017
House GOP eyes three-week plan on Obamacare; Ryan: ‘We’re going to unify’
House Republicans on Thursday said leaders want to smooth over party divisions and pass their Obamacare repeal plan within three weeks, as the GOP scrambles to keep its health care promises before the Easter break. Published March 2, 2017
Donald Trump Obamacare plan does not unite GOP factions
President Trump's prime-time appeal to scrap Obamacare energized Republicans but did little to bridge the divide between GOP factions jockeying for position in the push to repeal and replace the law before moving on to tax reform and other fights. Published March 1, 2017
