Tom Howell Jr.

Obamacare’s second act avoids disaster that marred inaugural run

New and returning Obamacare customers started to sign up on the law's marketplace Saturday, logging onto HealthCare.gov and other insurance portals from their own computers or flocking to enrollment centers for face-to-face help.

November 15, 2014

Administration promises better Obamacare enrollment website this year

The Obama administration said Friday the American public will find a simpler, more reliable HealthCare.gov when Obamacare's second round of enrollment begins Saturday — a chance for the law's overseers to redeem themselves after last year's failed launch nearly doomed the overhaul in its infancy.

November 14, 2014

Federal appeals court rejects challenge to Obamacare on contraceptives

A federal appeals court ruled Friday the Obama administration did not overly burden religious nonprofits by telling them to document their objections to an Obamacare mandate that requires employers to include birth control in their health plans.

November 14, 2014

Jonathan Gruber, Obamacare architect, recast as bit player amid uproar over remarks

For years, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Jonathan Gruber was deemed an architect of Obamacare and his economic modeling was cited regularly by the health care law's defenders on Capitol Hill and in legal briefs defending the Affordable Care Act in federal courts.

November 13, 2014

Obamacare’s small-business enrollment slow: Government auditors

Enrollment in the Obamacare insurance exchanges for small businesses has been much slower than expected, government auditors said Thursday, as the federally run portals and some state versions failed to offer key features such as online enrollment.

November 13, 2014

D.C. circuit suspends Obamacare case because Supreme Court will rule on subsidies fight

A federal appeals court has decided to hold off on a pivotal case brought by Obamacare opponents because the Supreme Court has decided to hear another challenge that addresses the same issue.

November 12, 2014

Obama administration makes case to Congress for Ebola funding

The Obama administration made its case to Congress Wednesday for $6.2 billion to fight Ebola at its source in West Africa while playing defense at home.

November 12, 2014

Thomas Eric Duncan’s family settles with Texas hospital that sent him home with Ebola: attorney

Family members of the Liberian national who died of Ebola after traveling to the U.S. reached a settlement with the Dallas hospital that initially sent him home despite his symptoms, an attorney said Wednesday.

November 12, 2014

Mali reports three deaths from Ebola; West Africa country borders hard-hit Guinea

Mali has confirmed its second fatal case of Ebola and signaled an additional death was likely due to the virus, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, underscoring the virus' ability to move beyond the borders of three West African countries battered by the epidemic.

November 12, 2014

Second round of Obamacare will be tough, White House ally says

A crucial nonprofit ally of the White House said Wednesday it will be much harder to reach uninsured Americans during Obamacare's second round.

November 12, 2014

Ebola fight to be a top topic for Congress

The fight against Ebola will be front and center for Congress when lawmakers return to Washington on Wednesday, scrutinizing the Obama administration's response to the deadly virus even as the U.S. is on the path to clearing its remaining cases and doctors say they are making some headway in slowing the disease at its source in West Africa.

November 11, 2014

Consumers to window shop on Obamacare 2.0

Americans who flock to Obamacare 2.0 this weekend will find spruced-up websites and enhanced "window-shopping," particularly at the federal government's HealthCare.gov portal, giving them a chance to pick and choose from plans they're eligible for.

November 11, 2014

Obamacare foes to D.C. district court: Don’t bother with subsidies case until Supreme Court rules

Obamacare opponents who want the courts to rein in income-based subsidies they view as illegal have asked a D.C. federal appeals court not to move forward with their challenge because the Supreme Court has decided to hear a separate case that presents the same legal issue.

November 11, 2014

Obamacare health exchange enrollees to fall short of target

The administration on Monday said fewer than 10 million Americans will enroll in Obamacare's health exchanges this go-around, well short of the 13 million target congressional scorekeepers deemed critical to its economics, suggesting another rocky rollout in the law's second year of full operation.

November 10, 2014

New HHS brief tempers enrollment expectations five days before Obamacare kicks off again

The Obama administration on Monday significantly scaled down expectations for the health care law's second round of enrollment, a move that is sure to draw fire from Republican opponents who have accused the administration of tweaking the law and its barometers for success too many times.

November 10, 2014

HealthCare.gov launches enhanced ‘window shopping’ tool

Shoppers on the federal Obamacare marketplace can get a sneak peak at the array of health plans offered in their area before they formally apply for coverage when open-enrollment kicks off on Saturday, according to an Obama announcement that outlines a much-needed "window shopping" feature on the website.

November 10, 2014

Over-the-counter contraception not on Republican agenda

A number of Republican candidates surmounted Democrats' "war on women" attacks in this year's campaigns by calling for birth control to be made available over the counter — but it's unclear whether they'll be able to follow through on those promises when the new Congress convenes next year.

November 9, 2014

Supreme Court takes Obamacare case on tax credits for state health care exchanges

The Supreme Court will wade into the legal heart of Obamacare for the second time in three years, taking up a case that could severely dent President Obama's signature domestic achievement as Republicans pledge to dismantle the law when they take full control of Congress.

November 9, 2014

Supreme Court to hear Obamacare case over subsidies; could redefine the law

The Supreme Court will wade into the fight over Obamacare once again, this time deciding whether subsidies tied to the overhaul should be restricted to certain states under a strict reading of the law.

November 7, 2014

Texas’ Ebola ordeal concludes as health officials take last person off monitoring list

Texas health officials are cheering the end of its brush with Ebola, as the last person linked to three patients diagnosed in Dallas will reach the end of a monitoring period for the viral disease late Friday.

November 7, 2014