Tom Howell Jr.

Obamacare ‘Cadillac tax’ to hit 1 in 4 employers that offer health care benefits

Obamacare's "Cadillac tax" will hit one in four employers that offer health care benefits, a leading industry analyst says in a report being released Tuesday, socking companies with a massive levy that Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill say is unfair to those who have negotiated high-quality plans as part of their jobs.

August 25, 2015

Court says Little Sisters can duck birth-control mandate until Supreme Court weighs in

A federal appeals court that refused to exempt a group of nuns from Obamacare's birth-control rules said Friday the sisters can duck the mandate and its hefty fines until the Supreme Court decides whether to take up their appeal.

August 21, 2015

Bobby Jindal sets up movie screen for Planned Parenthood supporters; wants them to see sting videos

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says many of the people protesting his actions to rein in Planned Parenthood haven't actually seen the undercover videos that kicked off a firestorm of GOP fury against the organization.

August 20, 2015

Scott Walker campaign targets Hillary Clinton over health care

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took aim Thursday at potential 2016 presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton with a web video that paints the Democratic front-runner as a pioneer of Obamacare's flawed promises.

August 20, 2015

Kaiser Foundation: Three quarters think drug prices are too high, action needed

Nearly three quarters of Americans think prescription drug costs are unreasonable, according a poll released Thursday that finds Americans feel they're paying more than consumers in Canada, Mexico and Western Europe for the same drugs.

August 20, 2015

Alaska GOP lays groundwork for court battle over Gov. Bill Walker’s Medicaid plans

Lawmakers in Alaska want a judge to block Gov. Bill Walker's unilateral plans to expand Medicaid under Obamacare.

August 19, 2015

WWI commission inches closer to final memorial design in D.C.

Five design concepts advanced Wednesday to the next stage of a competition to turn a downtown D.C. park into a national memorial to World War I.

August 19, 2015

Scott Walker lays out plan to repeal, replace Obamacare

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker touted his "put up or shut up" style and called out members of his own party Tuesday in unveiling his own plan to repeal and replace Obamacare with a system of refundable tax credits, an overhaul of Medicaid and reforms to long-term care.

August 18, 2015

Jeffrey Cutler, a Pa. man, loses court bid to keep the Obamacare plan he liked

A federal appeals court Friday ruled against a Pennsylvania man who lost his health plan because of Obamacare and complained that religious exemptions from the law left secular objectors in the cold.

August 14, 2015

HHS: Nearly 1 million got covered between Obamacare’s enrollment periods

Nearly a million people have signed up for Obamacare since Feb. 23 because they lost other forms of coverage or had a significant life change, the Obama administration said Thursday in a snapshot of people who used the federal HealthCare.gov website between the law's formal enrollment periods.

August 13, 2015

IRS may never recoup Obamacare tax credit overpayments totaling nearly $350 million

A quirk in the law means the IRS will never be able to recoup nearly $350 million in overpayments on Obamacare tax credits last year, and one top senator says he is worried that fraudsters will exploit the loophole to wring more cash out of the government.

August 11, 2015

Hillary Clinton cracks down on for-profit colleges after cashing in

When Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 2016 presidential candidate, unveiled her college affordability plan on Monday, she sounded every bit the critic of for-profit universities. But Mrs. Clinton, the spouse, benefited to the tune of millions of dollars from that same industry in a business relationship her husband enjoyed as recently as this spring.

August 10, 2015

States that embraced Obamacare see progress in cutting uninsured rates: Gallup poll

States that embraced Obamacare -- particularly its expansion of Medicaid -- saw the sharpest drops in their uninsured rates between 2013 and today, according to a Gallup survey that also says no state reported a significant increase in its share of uncovered residents since the law took root.

August 10, 2015

Donald Trump stands by comments about Fox News’ host Megyn Kelly

Real estate magnate Donald Trump refused to back down Sunday from comments about a Fox News host that were widely panned as sexist, as his roller-coaster campaign careered to uncomfortable heights amid a Republican presidential field clamoring for order and credibility.

August 9, 2015

Claire McCaskill: Chuck Schumer won’t sway other Democrats on Iran nuclear deal

Sen. Claire McCaskill insisted Sunday that Sen. Chuck Schumer's notable decision to oppose the nuclear deal with Iran hasn't placed pressure on fellow Democrats to follow suit.

August 9, 2015

Bernard Sanders, Democratic presidential candidate: Some attacks on Hillary Clinton are ‘sexist’

Sen. Bernard Sanders says the way Hillary Rodham Clinton has been treated by critics of her handling of the 2012 Benghazi attacks and her exclusive use of a private email server at the State Department has been "sexist" at times.

August 9, 2015

Donald Trump shrugs off criticisms on health care, coziness with political players

Donald Trump says that if President Ronald Reagan could morph from a liberal Democrat to a conservative Republican icon, then it's OK if he himself once supported a single-payer health system.

August 9, 2015

Marco Rubio, GOP presidential candidate, says he’s fed up with responding to Donald Trump’s remarks

Sen. Marco Rubio said Sunday that he's fed up with responding to Donald Trump's comments in the GOP presidential nomination race.

August 9, 2015

Donald Trump knocks critics of his ‘blood’ remarks about Fox News’ Megyn Kelly

Donald Trump lashed out Sunday at his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination who blasted him for insinuating that Fox News' Megyn Kelly had been menstruating during a tense exchange at Thursday night's GOP debate in Cleveland.

August 9, 2015

D.C. Circuit won’t rehear ‘origination clause’ suit against Obamacare

A federal appeals court on Friday said it will not reconsider a 2014 ruling that held Obamacare didn't violate the Constitution's "origination clause" requiring the House to kickstart revenue-raising bills, despite the law's tax on people who do not obtain health insurance.

August 7, 2015