Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Harry Reid: Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson ‘not in it to make money’
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is raising some eyebrows in a new TV interview with his assessment of Sheldon Adelson, a big-time political donor from Las Vegas. Published May 8, 2014
Rep. Elijah Cummings to Boehner: Tell GOP not to fundraise off Benghazi
Rep. Elijah Cummings challenged House Speaker John A. Boehner on Thursday to order his GOP allies to stop fundraising off efforts to investigate what led to the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans. Published May 8, 2014
GOP support for tea party wing is declining, Gallup poll says
A new poll finds only one in four Republicans or right-leaning independents consider themselves supporters of the tea party, offering another sign the wing's influence is waning after it failed to make inroads during this week's GOP primaries. Published May 8, 2014
Congressional Dems to GOP: The Obamacare fight is over
Congressional Democrats on Wednesday called on their GOP counterparts to end their assault on Obamacare, saying sign-ups totaling 8 million and stories from back home show the war is lost and that it's time to move on. Published May 7, 2014
Insurers to House GOP: Obamacare enrollment volatile, but higher than your 67% figure
Health insurance executives told Congress on Wednesday that at least 80 percent of Obamacare customers have paid their first premiums by the deadline, meaning that most of the 8 million people who enrolled are actually getting coverage. Published May 7, 2014
D.C. Council passes tax on health insurance to fund Obamacare exchange operations
The D.C. Council passed a unique tax on health insurance products Tuesday to ensure its Obamacare exchange remains viable when federal grant funding dries up next year — a concern it shares with 14 states that set up their own health portals. Published May 6, 2014
Obamacare enrollment exceeds expectations in nearly half the states
With final Obamacare tallies in, Democratic candidates set back by the law's early stumbles may rely on citing new figures that show sign-ups for private coverage exceeded expectations in red states and toss-up ones that did not exactly embrace the law. Published May 4, 2014
Kathleen Sebelius and fierce Obamacare critic, Ted Cruz, sit together at gala
On a night when D.C. politicians are expected to put down their swords, departing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius found herself sitting down to dinner with the fiercest Obamacare critic in Congress. Published May 4, 2014
Nearly half of all states hit Obamacare enrollment goals: analysis
Nearly half the states, or 44 percent, met or exceeded their enrollment expectations under Obamacare, according to a new analysis that assumes about 15 percent of customers will not pay their first premium and effectuate coverage. Published May 2, 2014
HHS releases new Obamacare figures, but can’t say how many paid
The Obama administration released a fresh round of Obamacare data for all 50 states Thursday, yet offered no payment data to combat Republican claims that only two-thirds of customers in the federal marketplace have paid their first premium. Published May 1, 2014
Health care bills still due for 3rd of enrollees, Republican polling shows
Only two-thirds of people who signed up for health care coverage on the federal Obamacare marketplace had paid their first month's premiums as of April 15, according to a House Republican-led survey of every insurer on the exchange system. Published April 30, 2014
CEO of Obamacare website firm: We were ‘never fired’
The chief of CGI Group, the Canadian contractor most closely linked to the flawed rollout of Obamacare last fall, told investment analysts Wednesday the company was not "fired" by anyone in the U.S. and that fallout from the web glitches was overblown in the press. Published April 30, 2014
Wellpoint, a big Obamacare insurer, dampens fears of big-time rate increases
Wellpoint, a key insurer on the new Obamacare marketplace, tempered fears on Wednesday of huge rate increases in 2015, saying the mix and characteristics of members from the health overhaul's exchanges are exceeding their expectations. Published April 30, 2014
Sen. David Vitter revives effort to make Congress come clean about Obamacare use
Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana has resurrected his bid to make sure Capitol Hill lawmakers and staff do not get special treatment under Obamacare. Published April 30, 2014
Enrollment spending much higher in state-run Obamacare exchanges, study shows
A new study shows "striking" differences in state-to-state spending to get the uninsured enrolled in health coverage through an Obamacare exchange, with state-run markets spending nearly $12 more per uninsured resident than states that relied on the federal exchange system. Published April 30, 2014
Obamacare website fix will cost feds $121 million
Fixing the Obamacare website to get it ready to handle a second round of enrollments will cost the federal government $121 million, according to Accenture, the contractor hired to repair the glitchy website after the original contractor, CGI Federal, was fired in January. Published April 29, 2014
Sen. Mary Landrieu blasts decision to keep Louisiania voters from deciding Medicaid expansion
Sen. Mary Landrieu cried foul Tuesday over a Louisiana state Senate panel's decision last week to reject a measure that would have allowed state voters to say whether they want to expand Medicaid coverage under the health care law. Published April 29, 2014
Plan would dedicate federal park in D.C. as WWI Memorial
Members of Congress said Tuesday they want to rededicate a federal park near the White House as a national World War I memorial, an attempt to quiet complaints that veterans of all the 20th century's major conflicts have been suitably honored in the nation's capital except for those who fought in "the Great War." Published April 29, 2014
Surge in sign-ups did not change views about Obamacare, poll shows
A closely watched poll said a late surge in Obamacare sign-ups had no effect on Americans' views of the health care law, with 46 percent holding an unfavorable opinion and 38 percent seeing it in a favorable light. Published April 29, 2014
Democrats, Republicans use Medicaid law as a campaign weapon
The attack line from Arkansas Democrats is simple: If Rep. Tom Cotton had his way, at least 155,000 of the state's poorest residents would lose the health care coverage they just received under a bipartisan plan that other states have imitated. Published April 28, 2014
