Skip to content
Advertisement

Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Keith Saunders, left, a certified Cover California insurance agent, explains a health insurance plan to Mark Tammes at a registration site hosted by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers, Monday, March 31, 2014, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) ** FILE **

Republicans gleefully mark one-year anniversary of failed Obamacare rollout

Republican operatives marked the one-year anniversary of Obamacare's failed tech rollout Wednesday by highlighting another early stumble — the promise that everyone could keep their health plans, even though the overhaul's new coverage standards resulted in cancellation notices for thousands of people in states with key Senate match-ups this fall.

October 1, 2014
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt answers a question during a news conference in Oklahoma City on July 16, 2013. (Associated Press)

U.S. judge sides with Oklahoma in health care suit

A federal judge has ruled in favor of the state of Oklahoma in its lawsuit against an IRS rule that extended Obamacare's subsidies to health exchange in every state, state officials announced Tuesday.

September 30, 2014
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker addresses the Republican National Committee summer meetings in Chicago on Aug. 8, 2014. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: I can show GOP the way

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination if he can hold onto his current job this fall, casts himself as a Republican uniter in a new GQ profile that just hit newsstands.

September 30, 2014
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (Associated Press) **FILE**

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence conspicuously schedules visit to N.H.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a possible contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, is scheduled to visit New Hampshire next month to campaign for Republican gubernatorial nominee Walt Havenstein, according to a news report.

September 30, 2014
Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C. makes a statement during a debate with Republican candidate for Senate Thom Tillis at UNC-TV studios in Research Triangle Park, N.C., in this Sept. 3, 2014, file photo. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Hispanic groups say they won’t accept blame for Democratic losses this fall: report

Hispanic advocates say they won't entertain any blame if Democrats lose control of the Senate, a reflection of their disappointment in President Obama for delaying executive action on deportation reforms and apathy for Democratic candidates that haven't made a direct appeal to the demographic, according to the Wall Street Journal reported.

September 30, 2014
FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2013 file photo Chongtou Yang, 59, of Cottage Grove, Wis., gets  guidance on the health insurance exchanges from counselor Lorraine McGowan at the Dane County Job Center in Madison, Wis. Figures released Wednesday, July 16, 2014 by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's administration show that more than 60 percent of the people who lost state Medicaid coverage earlier this year did not purchase private insurance through the online marketplace. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, John Hart, File)

Medicaid sprawling under Obamacare, but some states ill-equipped: report

Some states are better than others at providing access to care and keeping tabs on their Medicaid managed care programs, according to a federal report released Monday that raises questions about government oversight of the massive health program for the poor, which is rapidly expanding under Obamacare.

September 29, 2014
Medicaid Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Obamacare keeps pace with needed numbers

About 7.3 million Americans were getting health insurance through Obamacare's exchanges as of last month, the administration said Thursday, releasing numbers that suggest most customers did sign up properly and pay their premiums.

September 18, 2014