Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Notre Dame suit to duck Obamacare birth-control mandate denied — again
For a second time, a federal appeals court has rejected Notre Dame University's plea for relief from Obamacare's mandate requiring employer health plans to cover birth control. Published May 20, 2015
GOP feels pressure to offer Obamacare alternative as states consider exchanges
A looming Supreme Court decision on Obamacare subsidies is forcing states to grapple with what it would take to embrace the controversial health law and set up their own insurance exchanges. Published May 19, 2015
Only 150K penalty payers signed up for Obamacare during extra time
Only 150,000 customers signed up for Obamacare coverage on the HealthCare.gov website between March 15 and April 30, the administration said Tuesday, shedding light on how many people took advantage of extra time to sign up for coverage and avoid the tax penalty for being uninsured. Published May 19, 2015
Supreme Court Obamacare ruling looms, divides Republicans on alternative plans
The list of Republican plans to deal with the potential fallout from a pivotal Obamacare case before the Supreme Court is growing longer, although Republicans have yet to coalesce around a game plan with just six weeks before the court is expected to rule. Published May 17, 2015
One in four Americans who got insurance still can’t afford medical care: Study
One in four people who bought health insurance on their own couldn't afford medical care last year, according to a study released Thursday that shows out-of-pockets costs are still getting between Americans and their doctors despite Obamacare's progress in cutting the ranks of the uninsured. Published May 14, 2015
Rick Scott preps for possible government shutdown amid Medicaid standoff
Enmeshed in a budgetary standoff over federal health care dollars, Florida Gov. Rick Scott told state agencies Thursday to single out their most pressing needs and make a list of services that must salvaged in case of a government shutdown in July. Published May 14, 2015
WWI commission plans contest to design long-awaited memorial
Students, architects and even amateur designers who have a vision for what the national World War I memorial should look like will get their shot this summer, according to the body charged with honoring those who served in the Great War. Published May 14, 2015
House votes to ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy
The House voted Wednesday to ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy as Republicans delivered a key piece of the pro-life agenda and overcame an embarrassing false start earlier this year. Published May 13, 2015
Republicans push bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy
House Republicans are set to muscle through a revamped abortion bill Wednesday that bans the controversial procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy, insisting they've finally settled an internal GOP fight that capsized a similar bill in January. Published May 12, 2015
Rick Scott, Florida governor, pleads with Capitol Hill GOP to back him in Medicaid fight
Florida Gov. Rick Scott personally pleaded with Capitol Hill Republicans Tuesday to hold hearings, write letters or can do whatever they can to back his fight to renew federal funding that pays hospitals for treating the poor and illegal immigrants, even as the administration pushes him -- kicking and screaming -- to expand Medicaid instead. Published May 12, 2015
Dairies reach settlement in landmark case that defines manure as solid waste
A quartet of Washington State dairies settled out of court Monday after a federal judge -- for the first time ever -- said farms may be held liable for how they use manure fertilizer under a decades-old law on solid waste. Published May 11, 2015
HHS rewrites Obamacare rules: Orders free birth control for all
The Obama administration on Monday ordered all insurers to provide IUDs, the contraceptive patch and other birth control free of out-of-pocket charge to all women, thereby rewriting the rules after reports that some insurance carriers were refusing to cover all types of contraceptives. Published May 11, 2015
Eric T. Schneiderman floats bill to make Obamacare birth-control mandates N.Y. law
New York's top lawman proposed legislation Monday to write Obamacare's birth-control requirements into state law, extending no-cost services even to men as watchdogs accused insurers of violating the spirit -- if not the letter -- of the health overhaul by forcing women to pay out of pocket for their preferred contraceptives. Published May 11, 2015
Most want Supreme Court to uphold Obamacare subsidies: poll
More than half of Americans would like the Supreme Court to uphold Obamacare's subsidies in all 50 states, according to a poll released Monday that also finds only one in 10 people are quite confident the justices will decide a pivotal health case this June objectively. Published May 11, 2015
5 percent of Medicaid enrollees accounted for half of program’s spending: Gov’t study
A small-but-expensive fraction of Medicaid recipients accounted for nearly half of all spending for the program each year from 2009 to 2011, according to a new government report that studied people who do not also receive Medicare. Published May 8, 2015
IRS unable to make sure people comply with Obamacare penalty: Treasury IG
The IRS cannot be sure that Americans who lacked health insurance last year have complied with Obamacare's "individual mandate" penalty this tax season, according to an inspector general report Friday that pointed to a decision to delay proof-of-coverage forms from insurers and employers until 2016. Published May 8, 2015
Liberia Ebola outbreak to be declared over after yearlong struggle, 4,700 deaths
The Ebola epidemic that ravaged West Africa for more than a year could be declared over in Liberia on Saturday, marking a major milestone for the hard-hit nation after a nightmarish period of death and fear that awakened the globe to a long-ignored virus. Published May 7, 2015
Rick Scott asks courts to quickly intervene in Obamacare spat with HHS
Florida Gov. Rick Scott asked a federal court Thursday to thwart the Obama administration from using "unconstitutional coercion" to, in his view, force him to expand Medicaid under Obamacare by refusing to renew a separate program that helps hospitals care for the poor and uninsured. Published May 7, 2015
Rick Scott pleads with Obama admin for health funding
Florida Gov. Rick Scott pleaded face-to-face with the Obama administration Wednesday to preserve funding for an expiring health program, even though the federal government has told him to expand Medicaid instead -- a standoff that has produced a lawsuit, delayed state budget talks and roiled Obamacare politics at large. Published May 6, 2015
Elton John to Congress: Stigma is greatest threat to stopping AIDS for good
Music legend and advocate Elton John said the stigma of persons infected by HIV/AIDS, particularly in the LGBT community, is the greatest threat to fighting -- and one day stopping -- the disease. Published May 6, 2015
