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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

Senators, agencies plot ways to head off opioids addiction

Government officials on Thursday said they're scrambling to keep Americans from getting hooked on opioids in the first place, from cutting the number of pills in circulation to crafting drugs that attack pain without triggering brain receptors that crave another high.

October 5, 2017
Many customers use HealthCare.gov as a starting point before they are directed to state-run portals, so those marketplaces are worried about a downstream impact on their own enrollment. (Associated Press/File)

Ex-Obama officials launch campaign to promote Obamacare signups

When the Trump administration said it was slashing its budget for Obamacare outreach by more than $100 million, Lori Lodes was flabbergasted. Ms. Lodes, who promoted the federal HealthCare.gov website under President Obama, excoriated the new administration on social media, saying TV ads were the "No. 1 driver" for getting people to sign up.

October 4, 2017
Senate Budget Committee chairman Sen. Michael Enzi's budget proposal was crafted with tax reform in mind. (Associated Press)

Tax reform delays new Trump shot at Obamacare repeal

The Senate GOP's new budget pushes Obamacare repeal to the sidelines in its drive for sweeping tax cuts, meaning President Trump won't get another clear shot at repealing the health-care law until late winter or spring.

October 1, 2017
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Thomas Price (standing) resigned from his position Friday following a scandal about the cost of his travel. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney sent out a memo to agency heads about approving travel plans. (Associated Press photographs)

Tom Price scandal leads to policy of White House having to approve travel

President Trump's Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney sent a memo to agency heads, telling them the White House must approve travel following the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Thomas Price on Friday due to a scandal over the cost of his travel on private jets.

October 1, 2017
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Friday, May 19, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ** FILE **

Democrats see sabotage in Obamacare web outages

House Democrats demanded to know Friday why the Trump administration plans "major outages" of the federal Obamacare website during open enrollment this fall, saying it aligns too easily with the president's oft-stated idea to let the law implode.

September 29, 2017
In this Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, file photo, a man walks past health insurer Anthem's corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Anthem pulls out of Obamacare market in Maine

Anthem, a major insurer, said Wednesday it will pull out of the Obamacare marketplace in Maine next year, as insurers navigate choppy waters in the wake of the GOP's failure to pass a repeal bill and square away plans to stabilize the markets.

September 27, 2017
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and other Senate Democrats, from left, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., discuss consumer protections in the wake of a massive data breach at Equifax and a scandal at Wells Fargo, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. Executives for both Wells Fargo and Equifax will testify in Senate committees next week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Democrats blast GOP plans to repeal consumer rule

Democrats warned Republicans on Wednesday against a move to promote forced arbitration between customers and companies, saying Americans deserve the right to sue corporations, such as Equifax, who lose their data.

September 27, 2017
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., center, speaks, accompanied by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Senate GOP shelves Obamacare repeal bill

Senate Republicans said Tuesday they're shelving their 11th-hour push to repeal Obamacare, admitting defeat in the face of three crippling defections from their majority.

September 26, 2017
Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican, said she was dismayed by congressional scorekeepers' analysis that millions fewer people would hold insurance under the Republican plan. (Associated Press/File)

Susan Collins to vote no on Graham-Cassidy health bill

Sen. Susan M. Collins said Monday that she will vote against the latest Obamacare repeal effort, dealing what appears to be a fatal blow to Republican leaders' last-ditch attempt to rewrite the bill and sway holdouts.

September 25, 2017
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, greet protesters outside a hearing room where the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing to consider the Graham-Cassidy healthcare proposal, on Capitol Hill, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Protesters disrupt, delay Obamacare repeal hearing

Protesters upended the GOP's sole hearing on a last-gasp Obamacare repeal right as the gavel fell Monday, forcing its Republican chairman to recess the session until he could get order.

September 25, 2017