Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Senate health panel to vet Obamacare reform ideas from five governors: 3 Republican, 2 Democratic
The Senate Health Committee will hear from five governors -- three Republicans and two Democrats -- when it convenes a hearing on Obamacare's wobbly insurance markets next month, the panel announced Wednesday. Published August 23, 2017
Senate health panel announces hearings on Obamacare markets
The Senate Health Committee will hold a pair of hearings on patching up Obamacare's wobbly markets as soon as Congress returns in September from the summer recess, its Republican chairman and ranking Democrat announced Tuesday. Published August 22, 2017
Ballot battle erupts in Ohio over health care costs
They lost in California, but that hasn't stopped activists from waging a referendum war in Ohio against the big pharmaceutical companies. Published August 21, 2017
Zika virus reduced to few cases after scare in 2016
The Zika virus scare that sparked unprecedented travel warnings and a rush on bug spray in 2016 has petered out in its second year, with scientists saying that efforts to stamp out disease-carrying mosquitoes and the human immunity built up over the last year have combined to contain the spread. Published August 20, 2017
EpiPen manufacturer Mylan agrees to $465M settlement with U.S.
Mylan, the maker of EpiPens for allergy sufferers, has agreed to pay $465 million to settle claims it short-changed taxpayers by misclassifying its popular device as a generic instead of a brand-name product, a U.S. attorney for Massachusetts said Thursday. Published August 17, 2017
Donald Trump will make contested Obamacare payments in August: White House
The Trump administration confirmed Wednesday it will make critical Obamacare payments to insurers for August -- one day after congressional scorekeepers outlined the risks of cutting off the contested reimbursements over the long haul. Published August 16, 2017
CBO: Cutting off Obamacare payments would jack premiums up 20 percent
Cutting off Obamacare reimbursement payments for insurers -- as President Trump has threatened to do -- would send premiums soaring by 20 percent next year, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, predicting that health insurance companies would hike rates to make up for the loss of taxpayers' money. Published August 15, 2017
Donald Trump sticks by Scott Garrett nomination to Export-Import Bank
President Trump is standing by former Rep. Scott Garrett, his pick to chair the Export-Import Bank, and is prepared to brave protests from business groups and senators who say the ex-congressman won't even commit to protecting the agency he's supposed to lead. Published August 13, 2017
Kaiser Family Foundation: Health care premiums up by double digits in 2018
The uncertainty sown by President Trump over health payments is causing double-digits premiums increases for Obamacare customers next year, according to new reports. Published August 11, 2017
Donald Trump declares opioid crisis a ‘national emergency’
President Trump directed his administration Thursday to treat the opioid epidemic as a national emergency, following through on his own commission's advice just days after his health secretary suggested the president didn't need additional powers to fight the scourge of heroin and prescription painkiller abuse. Published August 10, 2017
Teen pregnancy prevention grants to be trimmed under Trump
The Trump administration is cutting short a batch of Teen Pregnancy Prevention grants, angering big-city health department chiefs who said Wednesday they will no longer be able to figure out what's working to cut pregnancy rates. Published August 9, 2017
Opioid overdose deaths rising despite efforts: Gov’t report
Drug overdose deaths spiked in the first nine months of 2016, according to government data that suggests the opioid crisis is still killing an alarming number of Americans despite nationwide efforts to get a handle on the epidemic. Published August 8, 2017
Senate moves on from Obamacare debate with bipartisan drug bills
The Senate unanimously approved bills Thursday that would let dying patients try medicines that haven't won full regulatory approval and inform doctors if a patient is a recovering drug addict, so they can prescribe safe treatment. Published August 3, 2017
Obamacare battle: Governors implore Donald Trump to guarantee insurer payments
Governors from both parties implored President Trump to guarantee critical Obamacare payments to insurers though next year, arguing it is within the White House's power to help steady a wobbly individual insurance market. Published August 2, 2017
Xavier Becerra Eric Schneiderman can intervene in Obamacare payment case
Democratic state attorneys general can intervene in a court case over critical Obamacare payments that President Trump has threatened to cut off, a federal appeals court said Tuesday, finding the states demonstrated the risk of premium hikes and an uptick in the number of uninsured people seeking expensive care at state-funded hospitals. Published August 1, 2017
Senate health panel to hold hearings on stabilizing Obamacare
Bipartisan leaders of the Senate Health Committee announced Tuesday they will hold hearings on stabilizing the individual insurance markets when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. Published August 1, 2017
Conservatives urge Donald Trump to revoke Obamacare subsidy for Congress
Top conservatives challenged President Trump on Monday to revoke the special $12,000 Obamacare subsidy members of Congress receive each year courtesy of taxpayers, saying the best way to force lawmakers back to the bargaining table is to force them to fully obey the struggling law. Published July 31, 2017
Cutting off Obamacare reimbursements would harm Donald Trump’s image, say experts
President Trump has renewed his threat to yank critical Obamacare reimbursements from health insurers but experts said it's likely an empty gesture, insisting that if he does cut off the payments it would leave the markets even wobblier — and the GOP would get the blame. Published July 31, 2017
Health care system a bipartisan problem in Congress
Dozens of U.S. counties might not have any plans to choose from on Obamacare's insurance exchanges next year while consumers with options face double-digit rate increases in many places -- putting Congress to choose among bipartisan fixes to the program, doubling down on repeal or following President Trump's advice to "let it implode." Published July 30, 2017
Senate Democrats call for reset, quick fixes on health care
Senate Democrats called on Republicans to immediately shore up Obamacare's flagging insurance markets and "sit down and trade ideas" over health reforms, extending an olive branch after the GOP push to repeal the 2010 law fell into tatters early Friday. Published July 28, 2017
