Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
After Obamacare health exchange deadline passes, 26 states opt in with feds
The backbone of President Obama's health care law is taking shape, with 26 states choosing to let the federal government run the online insurance markets mandated by his signature reforms instead of keeping the job in-house or partnering with the feds. Published February 16, 2013
Obama administration: Health care exchanges will be up and running on Oct. 1
Republicans and Democrats warned Thursday that with major parts of President Obama's health law scheduled to go live later this year, the Obama administration had better get it right the first time — or else risk permanently scarring the White House's signature achievement. Published February 14, 2013
Republicans vow to hold out for data before vote on Hagel
Democrats pressed ahead Wednesday with Chuck Hagel's nomination to be secretary of defense, scheduling a showdown vote for Friday even as top Republicans signaled that they need more information before confirming him for the Pentagon's top civilian post. Published February 13, 2013
Party-line vote sends Pentagon pick Hagel to Senate floor
The Senate Armed Services Committee voted Tuesday along party lines to recommend the nomination of Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense, setting up a showdown in the full chamber as outspoken Republicans threatened to thwart the former Nebraska senator's nomination. Published February 12, 2013
Feds deny Mississippi plan for state-run health exchange, citing divisions
Federal health officials have denied Mississippi's request to set up a state-run health exchange under President Obama's health care law, settling an unusual political dispute in which the Republican governor overruled the state's own insurance commissioner. Published February 8, 2013
Concession on birth control not sufficient, bishops say
America's Catholic bishops on Thursday rejected President Obama's latest contraception mandate upon religiously affiliated hospitals, schools and charities, saying the rules still don't ensure that people won't be forced to pay for contraceptives to which they morally object. Published February 7, 2013
Catholics bishops: Obama contraception compromise not enough
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Thursday that President Obama's recent attempt to mollify religious objections to covering contraception as part of his signature health law has fallen short of addressing their concerns. Published February 7, 2013
GOP governors warily OK expanding Medicaid
Republican governors are warming to the expansion of Medicaid under President Obama's health care law, but their cooperation comes with a common plea to the administration — keep your promises and give us a little flexibility in our backyards, or else the deal is off. Published February 7, 2013
Mich. governor signs on for Obama’s Medicaid expansion
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday became the sixth Republican governor to support the expansion of Medicaid as envisioned by President Obama's health law. Published February 6, 2013
Centrist Republicans push long-term budget fix
Centrist House Republicans say they still want Congress to fix the nation's financial problems through a long-term grand bargain, warning its "ping-pong ball" method of propping up the economy from month to month will end in a crisis that will force even more unpleasant decisions on them. Published February 5, 2013
Sebelius: ‘Help us speed up’ health care rollout
President Obama's health care law is "here to stay," but cannot fulfill its promise if states do not expand Medicaid and the uninsured do not take advantage of the benefits designed to put coverage within reach of millions more Americans, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday. Published February 4, 2013
Obama admin. easing contraception mandate in health law
The Obama administration on Friday rolled out a revised rule that gives religious institutions the option to divorce themselves from a mandate in the president's health care law that requires insurance plans to cover contraception for their employees. Published February 1, 2013
Top Republican hits health care law’s burden on small businesses
A key House Republican is warning that the mandate in President Obama's health care law requiring companies with more than 50 employees to provide adequate health insurance to their workers is so cumbersome that even the parts designed to help firms with compliance will cause headaches. Published February 1, 2013
Bipartisan bill seeks to alter Obamacare
A Republican and a Democrat teamed up Wednesday to announce a bill to dissolve part of President Obama's health care law that critics say skews some of the benefits to hospitals in Massachusetts, at the expense of other states. Published January 30, 2013
U.S. facing shortage of 16,000 doctors as health care act kicks in
The United States needs 16,000 more primary care physicians to meet its current health care needs, a problem that will only get worse if nothing is done to accommodate millions of newly-insured residents under President Obama's health care law in the coming decade, according to a Senate report released Tuesday. Published January 29, 2013
Tactics change in health law fight
In stark contrast to the last congressional session, Republican lawmakers have introduced only a handful of bills to strike down or dismantle President Obama's health care law in the first weeks of the new Congress — the latest indication that the epicenter of debate over "Obamacare" has shifted to the nation’s statehouses. Published January 28, 2013
Catholic Univ. to continue fighting birth-control mandate
Catholic University officials will continue to fight a mandate in President Obama's health care law that requires the school to provide insurance coverage for contraception, the school said Monday, even though a federal judge dismissed their lawsuit against the government as premature. Published January 28, 2013
Oklahoma risks IRS penalties on health care
The Internal Revenue Service flatly ignored Oklahoma's "sovereign choice" to reject a key portion of President Obama's health care law, exposing the state to burdensome penalties despite its willful strategy to avoid the sanctions by following the letter of the law, the state's top lawyer said in court papers filed Friday. Published January 26, 2013
‘Bipartisan’ task force on climate change one party short
Two Democrats on Capitol Hill are seconding President Obama's call for real political muscle to address climate change and vowed to form a bipartisan task force — but they haven't found any Republican takers yet. Published January 24, 2013
Hill Democrats seek allies for Obama climate push
A pair of Democrats on Capitol Hill are joining President Obama's call to put real political muscle into the fight to address climate change and vowed to form a bipartisan task force — but they haven't found any Republican takers yet. Published January 24, 2013
