Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Obamacare fix-it czar says website repair on track
Jeffrey Zients, the management expert and former top White House budget aide tapped by President Obama to help fix the federal Obamacare website, said Friday his repair team is still on track to have the online portal working smoothly for the "vast majority of users" by the end of this month. Published November 1, 2013
D.C. appeals court backs challenge to Obamacare contraception mandate
A D.C.-based federal appeals court ruled Friday a mandate in the new health care law that requires two Catholic brothers in Ohio to insure birth control for their employees violates their religious freedoms — the latest in a string of legal opinions that are driving a controversial section of the Obamacare debate toward a hearing before the Supreme Court. Published November 1, 2013
Only six people enrolled in federal Obamacare site on first day: House investigator
The House's top investigator released Obamacare meeting notes late Thursday that suggest only six people were able to enroll in coverage through a federal web portal on its launch date, Oct. 1. Published November 1, 2013
Some are in, some are out of Obamacare on Capitol Hill
Members of Congress had to decide by Thursday which of their staffers would be kicked off their congressional health care plan and forced to buy coverage through the Obamacare exchanges, leading to a mishmash of legal strategies and recriminations on Capitol Hill. Published October 31, 2013
D.C. health exchange security question: What are your Lotto numbers?
Problems with web-security questions were one of the key glitches the Obamacare rollout faced early on, both on federal and state-based exchanges. Now that they're working more smoothly, at least one congressman is poking fun at a question on the D.C.-run exchange in which federal lawmakers and their staffs are expected to enroll. Published October 31, 2013
Obamacare not for me, HHS head Kathleen Sebelius says
President Obama’s top health care official apologized Wednesday for the broken Obamacare website and said it would take another month to fix — but even as she defended the law as a good deal for most Americans, she said there was no reason for her to have to purchase coverage from the exchanges. Published October 30, 2013
Sebelius on Obamacare website: ‘Hold me accountable for this debacle’
President Obama's top health official admitted to Congress on Wednesday that Obamacare's main website faces a litany of problems, including the delivery of inaccurate data to insurers and glitches that do not allow uninsured Americans to enroll, resulting in a "miserably frustrating experience for way too many Americans." Published October 30, 2013
In Massachusetts trip, Obama looks to move past glitches, focus on what works
President Obama hopes to bat away talk of web glitches and cancellation notices in a visit Wednesday to Boston, where he'll highlight the success of health reforms in Massachusetts that served as the template for Obamacare, administration officials said. Published October 29, 2013
Obamacare website chief apologizes for poor rollout
The head of the agency in charge of the new health care law apologized Tuesday to people who've tried to use the flawed federal Obamacare website, but she said she still has faith that the site will be working for most Americans by the end of November. Published October 29, 2013
Obamacare gets grace period, but privacy still a concern
The federal Obamacare website has been blasted for technical problems, but Republicans say an even bigger problem may be lurking inside the computer system — weak protections of private information. Published October 28, 2013
Obama peddles inexpensive insurance options to wary youth
As website glitches raise fears that young, healthy people will not sign up for coverage under the new health care law, the Obama administration Monday reported that nearly half of single young adults seeking insurance could purchase a health plan for $50 or less per month. Published October 28, 2013
Troubled Obamacare site back online after crash
The Obama administration said a network outage that added to the Obamacare website's woes was resolved early Monday. Published October 28, 2013
Under pressure, 10 Senate Democrats push for Obamacare extension
Pressure is mounting on Senate Democrats, notably those up for re-election in Republican-leaning states next year, to deal with Obamacare's flawed rollout when they get back to work Monday. Published October 25, 2013
HealthCare.Gov developers tell Congress crucial tests were shirked
The Obama administration waited until the last minute to test the main Obamacare website and refused to ask for a delay when hiccups arose, government contractors testified to Congress on Thursday as they tried to explain why the rollout of the insurance exchanges has been so rocky. Published October 24, 2013
GOP Rep. Fred Upton: Obamacare website should have been ‘the easy part’
A top Republican lawmaker said Thursday that a federal website tied to Obamacare "should have been the easy part" and that is it time for contractors and officials to admit what they knew ahead of time about the glitches that are spoiling the rollout of President Obama's key legacy item. Published October 24, 2013
Obamacare contractors set to take heat for missteps, spread blame around
The lead contractor on the bug-riddled website tied to Obamacare is set to tell Congress that it takes some blame for problems with the system but that a government agency called many of the shots ahead of the site's Oct. 1 debut and another contractor's work created a "bottleneck" among users on the front end of enrollment. Published October 24, 2013
More Democrats push for delay in Obamacare mandate
More Democrats on Wednesday joined the bipartisan calls for President Obama to reconsider his health care law's individual mandate, and the administration shifted its own emphasis from a Feb. 15 sign-up deadline to an end-of-March deadline for when Americans must prove they have coverage under the individual mandate. Published October 23, 2013
Obama chooses ex-budget chief Zients to oversee HealthCare.gov repairs
Scrambling to fix the Obamacare website, the White House announced Tuesday that it has hired former budget director Jeff Zients to oversee repairs to the faulty system that is threatening implementation of the entitlement program itself. Published October 22, 2013
White House won’t rule out delay of Obamacare; buyers wait for website fix
The Obama administration remains committed to getting Obamacare up and running on time, but the White House this week left itself enough wiggle room if it decides it must delay the mandate that everyone have health insurance — a centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act — if consumers continue to have problems signing up. Published October 22, 2013
GOP questions if troubled Obamacare site tried to hide prices
The House's top investigators want to know if the Obama administration made a political decision to get rid of an online tool that would have allowed uninsured Americans to comparison-shop among private health plans on the federal Obamacare website before registering for an account. Published October 22, 2013
