Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Ebola screening: U.S. takes Mali off list
Travelers from Mali will no longer be singled out for enhanced Ebola-virus screening at U.S. airports, a pair of government agencies said Monday in a sign the government is willing to scale down its precautions once a country eradicates the disease from within its borders. Published January 5, 2015
Obamacare repeal: Republicans eye ‘reconciliation’ route
With Senate Democrats losing their majority but still able to muster enough troops to mount successful filibusters, Republicans are eyeing another tactic in their uphill fight to dismantle Obamacare. Published January 1, 2015
Obamacare employer insurance mandate kicks in Jan. 1
Obamacare's insurance mandate on employers will quietly take effect for large companies Thursday, one year later than planned after a pair of unilateral delays fed into Republican claims the White House plays fast and loose with the implementation of its signature law. Published December 31, 2014
Obamacare’s federal exchange gains 1.8M new customers for 2015: HHS
Nearly 1.8 million new customers signed up for health coverage on the federal Obamacare marketplace and over 1.6 million actively re-enrolled for coverage starting Jan. 1, while an additional 600,000 new and returning customers added to the tally on exchanges run by 13 states and the District of Columbia, according to administration data released Tuesday. Published December 30, 2014
Accenture wins $563M contract to run HealthCare.gov
The Obama administration has awarded Accenture — the technology company that swooped in to help revive HealthCare.gov at the start of this year — a five-year, $563 million contract to continue its work on the federal Obamacare exchange, the company said Monday. Published December 29, 2014
Kathleen Sebelius has few regrets about Obamacare
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says she has few regrets about how the Obamacare saga has played out, despite a disastrous rollout that led up to her resignation from President Obama's cabinet last spring. Published December 29, 2014
Republican governors push to expand Medicaid
Even as states wrestle with whether to expand their Medicaid programs under Obamacare, they're already grappling with the looming 2017 date when the federal government begins to cut its support, which will force states to have to make tricky budget decisions. Published December 28, 2014
NYPD Commissioner: Officers turning their backs on deBlasio was ‘inappropriate’
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton on Sunday denounced the actions of hundreds of officers who turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio during the weekend funeral for one of two city officers shot in cold blood as protests over police-involved killings roiled America. Published December 28, 2014
Obama marks end of Afghan mission as ‘milestone’
President Obama marked the end of America's longest-ever war Sunday by praising those who died in the post-9/11 mission in Afghanistan and trumpeting his own efforts to bring troops home, even as he committed to leaving a "limited military presence" to train Afghan forces for the lingering fight against extremists. Published December 28, 2014
Singapore-bound AirAsia jet goes missing over Java Sea with 162 on board
As crews searched for yet another missing passenger plane over southeast Asian waters, the corporate face of the airline is using social media to show he is actively engaged in the response. Published December 28, 2014
Obamacare enrollment on federal exchange reaches nearly 6.4M
The Obama administration said Tuesday that nearly 6.4 million new and returning Obamacare customers had selected a plan on the federal exchange through Friday, a significant jump from previous enrollment reports because Americans who automatically renewed older plans were lumped into the official count. Published December 23, 2014
Supreme Court sets arguments in pivotal Obamacare subsidies case for March 4
Arguments in a Supreme Court case that could decide the fate of Obamacare have been scheduled for March 4. Published December 22, 2014
Chris Coons sees progress against Ebola in Liberia
Sen. Chris Coons, the first member of Congress to visit the West African heart of the Ebola outbreak, said Monday that U.S. government and nonprofit aid has resulted in demonstrable progress against the virus in Liberia. Published December 22, 2014
Ebola deaths reach 6,900 in West Africa; more than 1M could face food shortage by March
The number of Ebola-related deaths has reached an even 6,900 in the three most-affected countries in West Africa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday, the same day the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a U.S. senator kicked off tours of the devastated region. Published December 18, 2014
Obamacare critics who are fighting subsidies sue administration again, over public records
Obamacare critics who took the administration all the way to the Supreme Court over the law's subsidies have sued once again — this time, because it says federal officials are "stonewalling" its request for public records about how it developed the overhaul's health exchanges. Published December 18, 2014
House Oversight report: Social Security judges could be wasting billions in disability appeals
The Social Security Administration allows certain judges to stay on the job despite rubber-stamping nearly all of the requests for benefits they see, sometimes from people who've already been denied two times, a scathing report by House investigators said Thursday. Published December 18, 2014
Manufacturers see little hope for Obamacare relief
Resurgent U.S. manufacturers face headwinds from Obamacare's mandates and taxes, but the law's namesake has two more years in the White House and public benefits will be hard to reel back despite the recent midterm election results, National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons said. Published December 17, 2014
GOP lawmakers tell Obama’s team to prep for a loss in pivotal Obamacare subsidies case
Top congressional Republicans accused the Obama administration Wednesday of failing to steel themselves and Obamacare customers for a Supreme Court ruling next year that could cut off the law's subsidies to two-thirds of the states. Published December 17, 2014
California adds 144K Obamacare customers; state figures providing fuller picture of enrollment
California, the nation's most populous state and a major contributor of Obamacare enrollees, announcedWednesday it added 144,000 customers to its insurance marketplace in the first month of sign-ups this year. Published December 17, 2014
Obamacare hits 2.5 million enrollees; officials say that doesn’t count ‘extremely busy’ weekend
Nearly 2.5 million Americans had selected health care plans on the federal marketplace through Friday, administration officials said Tuesday, portraying the Affordable Care Act's second open enrollment as a success so far. Published December 16, 2014
