Tom Howell Jr.

House votes to thwart cuts to Medicare payments; quick vote stirs controversy

Democrats such as Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey said Congress could still approve a new structure that scraps the unpopular Medicare formula and replaces it with a permanent system that rewards doctors for quality of care, a longstanding goal for both parties.

March 27, 2014

Obama administration: Don’t know how many will benefit from sign-up delay

The Obama administration that it doesn't know how many people will take advantage of the latest extension to buy insurance on the health care exchanges, in a move that signals just how determined President Obama is to make his law's economics work.

March 26, 2014

Harry Reid defends Obamacare delay: Some folks ‘not educated on how to use the Internet’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday defended the Obama administration's decision to let people finish their Obamacare applications after the Monday deadline, saying some Americans simply "are not educated on how to use the Internet."

March 26, 2014

GOP lawmakers slam latest Obamacare delay

Congressional Republicans lined up Wednesday to cry foul over the Obama administration's decision to let people sign up for health plans on the Obamacare marketplace even if they do not finish the process by Monday's deadline.

March 26, 2014

Amid high-profile arguments, Supreme Court has a few laughs

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is known to be blunt at times, and he told it straight Tuesday after the justices upheld a lower court's ruling and overturned another.

March 25, 2014

Female Supreme Court justices worry about corporations using religious objections to duck rules

The Supreme Court searched Tuesday for ways to let women get birth control without the government forcing their employers to cover the cost, as justices tried to balance business owners' religious rights against allowing religious objections to a broad range of public policy issues.

March 25, 2014

GAO sees hurdles blocking e-records

Government investigators say unclear standards and funding problems are thwarting medical providers from shifting to electronic health records and sharing their data, an ambition that's supposed to save the U.S. health care system billions of dollars each year.

March 24, 2014

Rick Perry leaves options open for 2016 White House run

The Texas governor, who is winding down his 14-year tenure in Austin, had to drop out of the GOP presidential primary race for president in 2012 after he failed to pick up wins in the early states.

March 24, 2014

Washington tribe tries to keep marijuana out of large swath of state: report

A Native American tribe in Washington state is trying to keep the burgeoning marijuana business out of its corner of the state, a new report said.

March 24, 2014

Leading health policy group: People using wrong metrics to judge Obamacare

"The problem is that just about everything about this narrative is wrong. It's the equivalent of judging the local weather from national averages," Kaiser Family Foundation CEO Drew Altman said in a blog post.

March 24, 2014

Malaysian PM: Flight ‘ended in southern Indian Ocean’

Malaysia's prime minister said Monday the missing airplane that's befuddled investigators and anguished passengers' families for two weeks is presumed lost over the Indian Ocean in a spot far off the west coast of Australia.

March 24, 2014

Malaysia P.M. to discuss ‘new developments’ in search for plane

Malaysia's prime minister is set to address "new developments" in the search for the plane that disappeared somewhere over the Indian Ocean two weeks ago, befuddling investigators and leaving the families of the missing passengers in anguish.

March 24, 2014

Gov. Christie’s internal review of ‘Bridgegate’ clears him of wrongdoing: report

Gov. Chris Christie's in-house review of the George Washington Bridge scandal found no evidence the New Jersey governor plotted or directed the lane closings that led to massive traffic jams in a small town across from Manhattan, The New York Times said.

March 24, 2014

New York’s Yankees trump Mets — even in Queens

A frequently cited polling group known for political analysis has delved into the nation's traditional pastime, finding folks in the Big Apple favor the New York Yankees 61-27 percent over the Mets, even in Queens.

March 24, 2014

Jimmy Carter: Russia’s takeover of Crimea is one thing, but ‘that’s far enough’

Former President Jimmy Carter said there was no way to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from laying claim to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula recently occupied and annexed by its looming eastern neighbor.

March 24, 2014

‘Most interesting man in the world’ makes D.C. anti-landmine push

The "most interesting man in the world" is hitting the nation's capital next month in support of efforts to eradicate land mines from war-torn areas of the world.

March 24, 2014

D.C. and San Jose areas are most confident about the U.S. economy

People who live in and around the nation's capital and San Jose are the most confident about the U.S. economy, Gallup said.

March 24, 2014

Supreme Court to weigh religious rights of corporations vs. Obamacare’s ‘contraception mandate’

Obamacare is on the docket as the Supreme Court hears from corporate owners who say their personal beliefs should trump a government mandate that requires their company health care plans to insure birth control.

March 23, 2014

GOP campaign officials mark Obamacare anniversary with warning for Dems

Top Republican campaign officials on Friday marked the fourth anniversary of Obamacare's passage by warning Democrats they will suffer from a lack of credibility among midterm voters this fall because of the health care law's stumbles and flawed promises.

March 21, 2014

Obamacare a winning issue for Democrats, Pelosi says

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi predicted Thursday that Obamacare will be a winning issue for her party in congressional elections this year, despite a high-profile loss in Florida and hang-wringing among her fellow Democrats.

March 21, 2014