Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Obama administration prepares for court showdown over Obamacare subsidies
The Obama administration has prepared for Wednesday's Supreme Court showdown by spending an extraordinary amount of time not just arguing the law, but the possible bad outcomes if the justices strike down Obamacare's subsidies in most states. Published March 2, 2015
GOP senators say they can rescue Americans from fallout of Obamacare ruling
A trio of influential Republican senators said Monday they're closing in on a plan to help Americans who would be affected by a Supreme Court ruling that yanks Obamacare's subsidies from two-thirds of the states. Published March 2, 2015
House rejects Homeland Security funding
Conservatives rebelled in the House Friday afternoon, joining Democrats to defeat a bill to keep the Homeland Security Department open past a midnight shutdown deadline and leaving funding in doubt as all sides continued to fight over President Obama's deportation amnesty. Published February 27, 2015
Congress’s Obamacare exemption of itself OK, judge rules
A D.C. judge has dismissed a lawsuit that claimed Congress overstepped its bounds when it allowed lawmakers and staff to enroll in an Obamacare exchange set up for small employers in the nation's capital. Published February 26, 2015
Sylvia Mathews Burwell: Not aware of a secret HHS document to prep for Obamacare ruling
President Obama's top health official told Congress Thursday she is not aware of a 100-page workup that, according to an influential Republican, lays out potential options the Health and Human Services Department may take if the Supreme Court strikes down many of Obamacare's subsidies. Published February 26, 2015
Ben Sasse outlines off-ramp for Obamacare subsidies case
A freshman Republican senator says he will introduce legislation in the coming days that provides an off-ramp for Americans who would be affected by a Supreme Court ruling this summer that could blow a wide hole in Obamacare. Published February 26, 2015
Lamar Alexander, Senate Republicans to test Obama’s bipartisanship
A key Republican said Wednesday the Senate GOP will fast-track two conservative priorities — a bill that shields states from Common Core or other national education standards and a state alternative to Obamacare exchanges — as they seek to test President Obama's bipartisanship. Published February 25, 2015
Taxpayers duck Obamacare tax, snubbing IRS
Taxpayers are already telling their accountants they plan to stiff the IRS on the Obamacare tax, saying they figure the chances the agency comes after them for a few hundred bucks are pretty slim, and it makes sense to take the risk. Published February 25, 2015
Orrin Hatch: Administration put insurers over regular Americans in plans for Obamacare ruling
A powerful Republican senator says the administration is offering a parachute to insurers under threat by a Supreme Court ruling that could gut Obamacare this June, even as it says nothing to everyday HealthCare.gov enrollees who would lose their subsidies if the justices rule against President Obama's overhaul. Published February 25, 2015
Sylvia Mathews Burwell, HHS secretary: No plan to deal with Obamacare subsidies case
The Obama administration broke its silence and told Congress Tuesday it has no plan to deal with the "massive damage" that would result from a Supreme Court decision that invalidates Obamacare's subsidies in most of the states. Published February 24, 2015
H&R Block study: Majority of Obamacare clients paying back subsidy
A majority of Obamacare customers who received government subsidies last year to get covered on state and federal health exchanges must pay back a portion to the IRS, according to an H&R Block study released Tuesday. Published February 24, 2015
Obamacare subsidy error forces thousands to re-file taxes
Tax season just got more complicated for hundreds of thousands of Americans, as the Obama administration scrambles to fix an error affecting one out of every five Obamacare customers who received government subsidies to help them pay for coverage on HealthCare.gov. Published February 22, 2015
Obamacare officials admit blunder: 800K got faulty tax info from federal website
Bowing to intense pressure, the Obama administration said Friday it will give uninsured Americans exposed to Obamacare's tax for lacking insurance a six-week grace period to enroll in coverage on HealthCare.gov and avoid heftier penalties next year, even though they missed last weekend's deadline to sign up. Published February 20, 2015
Vermont the 3rd state to offer relief for Obamacare penalty payers
Uninsured Vermonters who realize they must pay a special tax for lacking health insurance in 2014 can enroll in the state's health exchange even though they missed Obamacare's signup deadline, the state announced Thursday, making it the third state to extend relief to penalty payers. Published February 19, 2015
Many uninsured are ignorant of Obamacare mandate tax and lapsed coverage deadline: survey
More than four out of every 10 people likely to be sanctioned for not having health insurance in 2014 heard "nothing or only little" about the Obamacare tax penalty, according to a new study that underscores the potential backlash administration officials could face from uninsured Americans before the April 15 tax deadline. Published February 19, 2015
David Vitter will hold up nominee until he gets answers on Obamacare ‘exemption’ for Congress
Republican Sen. David Vitter has informed the Obama administration's personnel chief that he will hold up the nomination of her deputy until he gets answers about how Congress is treated under Obamacare. Published February 19, 2015
Obama admin takes victory lap over Obamacare figures after signup deadline
Obamacare is working and here to stay, the administration declared Wednesday in extolling last-minute activity that pushed signups to 11.4 million nationwide, including 8.6 million from the HealthCare.gov marketplace that serves 37 states and is under threat at the Supreme Court. Published February 18, 2015
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to thank U.S. for Ebola aid during D.C. visit
Liberia's president is set to speak on Capitol Hill later this month, marking her first visit to Washington since she declared a state of emergency to deal with the Ebola outbreak that gripped West Africa last summer. Published February 18, 2015
Obamacare enrollment deadline gets winter weather extension
First it was man-made website glitches, and now it's Mother Nature's wrath that have given Obamacare supporters the excuse to extend application deadlines in the second open enrollment for the health exchanges. Published February 17, 2015
White House touts 11.4 million Obamacare signups-and-counting after deadline
More than 11 million people selected a health plan under Obamacare during the enrollment period that ended Sunday, the White House announced Tuesday in the first peak at how many customers flocked to the exchanges in the law's second round. Published February 17, 2015
