Tom Howell Jr.

GOP lawmakers tell Obama’s team to prep for a loss in pivotal Obamacare subsidies case

Top congressional Republicans accused the Obama administration Wednesday of failing to steel themselves and Obamacare customers for a Supreme Court ruling next year that could cut off the law's subsidies to two-thirds of the states.

December 17, 2014

California adds 144K Obamacare customers; state figures providing fuller picture of enrollment

California, the nation's most populous state and a major contributor of Obamacare enrollees, announcedWednesday it added 144,000 customers to its insurance marketplace in the first month of sign-ups this year.

December 17, 2014

Obamacare hits 2.5 million enrollees; officials say that doesn’t count ‘extremely busy’ weekend

Nearly 2.5 million Americans had selected health care plans on the federal marketplace through Friday, administration officials said Tuesday, portraying the Affordable Care Act's second open enrollment as a success so far.

December 16, 2014

Obamacare leeway: Health care industry gives customers some cushion on payments in new year

Health insurers may give Obamacare customers on the federal marketplace extra time to pay their premiums, giving customers a cushion as they renew plans tied to the overhaul for the first time.

December 16, 2014

Obamacare deadline passes but number of new enrollees not released

Obamacare's first major deadline of the new enrollment period passed Monday without serious hiccups, marking a stark turnaround from last year, when web glitches nearly doomed the reform.

December 15, 2014

Obama says HealthCare.gov works ‘flawlessly’

President Obama says the federal Obamacare exchange works "flawlessly" and that returning customers should "go shopping" before the end of the day for a good deal on coverage that starts Jan. 1.

December 15, 2014

Obamacare enrollment deadline looms

This time, the Obamacare deadlines actually mean something.

December 14, 2014

David Vitter asks administrators to help Capitol Hill staff enter Obamacare exchange

A Republican senator who recently pushed for — and got — a GOP conference rule that forces all staff members to use the Obamacare marketplace for job-related health coverage asked D.C. administrators Friday to help affected employees make the switch.

December 12, 2014

HHS pleads with Obamacare customers to shop before key Monday deadline

President Obama's top health official pleaded Friday with new and returning Obamacare customers to shop for the best deal on the insurance exchanges by Monday — the deadline to sign up for coverage that takes effect on Jan. 1.

December 12, 2014

House investigators subpoeana Jonathan Gruber for Obamacare records

House investigators said Thursday they will legally compel Obamacare "architect" Jonathan Gruber to cough up documents related to his work on the president's health overhaul and how much he was paid.

December 12, 2014

House GOP won’t force Obamacare on staffers

Senate Republicans' vote this week to make their staffers use the Obamacare exchanges has put the spotlight on their House colleagues, who refused to do the same in a vote earlier this year, leaving them in a tenuous political position.

December 11, 2014

Obamacare mandatory for Senate Republicans’ staffers after David Vitter resolution passes

Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to abide by Obamacare by requiring all their staffers to sign up for insurance on the health care exchanges, a move designed to take the moral high ground when the GOP takes control of the chamber next year and moves to repeal the health care law altogether.

December 10, 2014

HHS: More than 1M have selected plan so far in second round of Obamacare

The Obama administration said Wednesday that more than 1 million people had selected a health plan in the federal Obamacare marketplace through Friday.

December 10, 2014

Senate Republicans adopt party rule for staffers to use Obamacare exchange

Senate Republicans adopted a proposal Wednesday that compels each of their staff members to get their health insurance through the Obamacare marketplace.

December 10, 2014

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian president, thanks Congress for Ebola aid

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf expressed "profound gratitude" Wednesday to U.S. government and aid workers fighting Ebola in her country, saying American leadership set off a domino effect that brought global aid to West African countries reeling from the viral disease.

December 10, 2014

Time magazine names Ebola fighters as Person of the Year for 2014

Time magazine has named the aid workers fighting Ebola in West Africa as their highly anticipated "person of the year" for 2014.

December 10, 2014

Congress axes D.C. marijuana legalization in spending plan

A voter approved ballot initiative legalizing marijuana in the District and a council-passed measure decriminalizing the drug fell victim to federal budget negotiators, who inserted an amendment into a massive $1.1 trillion spending bill that effectively restores criminal penalties for pot possession in the nation's capital.

December 9, 2014

Jonathan Gruber apologizes to Congress for ‘inexcusable’ political comments about Obamacare

Jonathan Gruber said Tuesday he was glib, insulting and speaking well beyond his abilities when he called American voters stupid and said Obamacare backers had to game the system to get the law passed.

December 9, 2014

Marilyn Tavenner, Jonathan Gruber unwilling cohorts at Obamacare oversight hearing

She might not like it, but a cabinet official in charge of Obamacare must sit on Capitol Hill alongside Jonathan Gruber, the man at the center of Obamacare's troubled public image.

December 9, 2014

Jonathan Gruber to face hostile House panel, tea party ‘I’m with Stupid’ T-shirts

A tea party group said its members will greet Jonathan Gruber, the man at the center of Obamacare's troubled public image, with T-shirts reading "I'm with Stupid" when he shows up to defend himself Tuesday before what's likely to be a hostile congressional panel.

December 8, 2014