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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Protesters walk past a burning tyre in the Eastern Congolese town of Beni, Friday Dec. 28, 2018, as they demonstrate against the election postponed until March 2019, announced by Congo's electoral commission for Beni residents that is blamed on a deadly Ebola outbreak. Congo's leader Joseph Kabila has blamed a deadly Ebola virus outbreak for the last-minute decision to keep an estimated 1 million voters from the polls in Sunday's long-delayed presidential election. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro)

Protests disrupt Ebola response in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Outrage over the Democratic Republic of the Congo's decision to postpone an election in Ebola-affected parts of the country are disrupting the response to the virus, as protests spilled Thursday from government buildings into an assessment center for patients, the World Health Organization said.

December 28, 2018
Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, said the IRS is "presumably getting better at running the system as a whole," regarding the overpayment issue. (Associated Press)

IRS unable to recoup nearly $1 billion in Obamacare subsidies

The IRS overpaid nearly $4 billion to Obamacare customers through tax credits last year, and because of the way the law is written it can't even try to collect on a quarter of that, the Treasury Department's inspector general reported this week.

December 27, 2018
More than half of the states and hundreds of cities, counties and American Indian tribes have taken the pharmaceutical industry — a major political contributor — to court over the opioids epidemic. (Associated Press/File)

States, tribes sue opioid makers over addiction epidemic

States, counties and Indian tribes that sued opioid makers over their role in the overdose crisis are poised to have their day in court in a make-or-break 2019, as pretrial wrangling gives way to showdowns before judges and juries.

December 27, 2018
Pfizer said its system's rebates and discounts rise just as fast for patients. "We believe the best means to address affordability of medicines is to reduce the growing out-of-pocket costs that consumers are facing due to high deductibles and coinsurance, and ensure that patients receive the benefit of rebates at the pharmacy counter," said CEO Ian C. Read. (Associated Press)

Pfizer, Novartis, Big Pharma drug companies to end price freeze, raise costs in new year

President Trump was riding high in July after a series of strident tweets and personal phone calls paid off: Pfizer, a top drug manufacturer, had decided to defer price increases for the rest of the year. He called it "great news" for American consumers, and other companies followed suit. They froze their prices while the White House worked on a prescription-pricing blueprint. But with New Year's Day looming, the freeze is thawing.

December 26, 2018
California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom successfully campaigned on pushing the state for a sweeping, single-payer health care system. Other Democratic governors-elect are also looking to expand health care coverage and to reform the system. (Associated Press)

Democrats look to states to expand Medicare coverage

Democrats' plans for "Medicare for all" are likely to stall in a divided Congress, leaving liberal activists looking to the states in 2019, hoping newly elected progressive champions will try to push the boundaries beyond Obamacare.

December 23, 2018

CDC: Animal doctors far more likely to take own lives

Veterinarians are far more likely to take their own lives than the general population, the government said Thursday in a study that finds animal doctors' workload, high debt and easy access to pharmaceuticals are driving the alarming trend.

December 20, 2018
The HealthCare.gov website is photographed in Washington on Dec. 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick) ** FILE **

Obamacare fans ramp up defense of law after ruling

Obamacare supporters are shoring up their defenses after a federal judge decided to strike the law, launching an ad campaign Tuesday as blue-state attorneys set the stage for a swift appeal.

December 18, 2018
A federal judge's ruling that the Obama health care law is unconstitutional has landed like a stink bomb among Republicans. (Associated Press/File)

Obamacare ruling sets up health care fight

President Trump says a federal judge's decision to strike Obamacare in its entirety is an early Christmas gift that clears the decks for a health care plan in the new year.

December 16, 2018