Tom Howell Jr.

GOP health care plan could harm anti-opioid efforts

The House GOP's health care bill would leave 14 million fewer people on Medicaid and force other patients to pay thousands of dollars more for substance abuse treatment, analysts said, in what some lawmakers fear would be a major step backward in the national battle against opioid addiction.

May 28, 2017

Adam Schiff: Reports on back-channeling with Russia ‘very concerning’

Rep. Adam Schiff of California on Sunday said reports that White House adviser Jared Kushner sought a secret channel to talk with the Russians would be "very concerning," if true, considering the Kremlin's alleged interference in the U.S. election.

May 28, 2017

Donald Trump picks fight with media upon return to U.S.

President Trump on Sunday picked up where he left off upon his arrival home from a nine-day overseas trip, using his phone and thumbs to attack the media on Twitter and decry the steady stream of governmental leaks that are embarrassing the White House.

May 28, 2017

John Kelly, DHS chief, says leaks are ‘borderline’ treason

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Sunday said "it's borderline, if not over the line of treason" to leak highly classified information gleaned from foreign intelligence, citing Britain's alarm at seeing details of its probe into the Manchester terror bombing in the U.S. press.

May 28, 2017

Bill Cassidy: Senate health bill will outdo House plan

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said Sunday his chamber plans to outdo a House-passed health bill that would repeal and replace Obamacare but, according to estimates, would result in 23 million fewer people holding insurance a decade from now.

May 28, 2017

Lindsey Graham skeptical of report on Kushner, Russians

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Sunday that he is highly suspicious of the latest bombshell allegations to roil White House -- that President Trump's son-in-law tried to set up a secret channel of communications between the transition team and the Kremlin.

May 28, 2017

Senators fed up with flow of illicit opioids through mail

Senators from both parties said Thursday they're growing impatient with foreign postal services that do not provide electronic data to U.S. inspectors hoping to intercept packages that contain highly dangerous opioids.

May 25, 2017

Paul Ryan defends health plan amid CBO score furor

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan defended the Republican health care bill Thursday amid blowback over formal estimates that said the plan would result in 23 million fewer people holding coverage and dramatically hike prices for sicker Americans in certain states.

May 25, 2017

GOP health care plan would leave 23 million uninsured, erase more than $30B in taxpayer savings: CBO

The latest version of House Republicans' health care bill will lower the cost of insurance for many Americans compared with what they would pay under Obamacare, but would leave 23 million fewer people with health insurance a decade from now, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

May 24, 2017

Trump admin. delays decision on Obamacare payments, causing uncertainty

The Trump administration told a federal appeals court Monday it needs more time to determine the fate of critical Obamacare payments, prolonging uncertainty in the marketplace even as insurers mull rate hikes or whether to quit the program altogether.

May 22, 2017

Obamacare exchanges squeeze lawmakers for quick fix

With Obamacare still the law of the land, Republicans and Democrats are searching for quick fixes that will help Americans who live in parts of the country that insurers have forsaken, saying they just can't make money under the strictures of the 2010 health care law.

May 21, 2017

Democrats pressure Trump family over health care

Six women from the House Democratic caucus on Thursday invited Ivanka Trump to a "constructive discussion" on women's health, as her father weighs pivotal moves on birth control and cheers on legislation that would defund Planned Parenthood.

May 18, 2017

WHO: Up to 20 Ebola cases, and three deaths, reported in Congo

The World Health Organization said Thursday it is launching a "no regrets" response to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the number of suspected cases has risen from nine to 20 in the past week.

May 18, 2017

National Institutes of Health lobbies Congress to maintain funding

House lawmakers signaled Wednesday that President Trump's proposed budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health will never see the light of day, saying the loss of funds would derail life-saving work and induce budget-busting medical costs down the road.

May 17, 2017

Donald Trump’s drama a Republican distraction

Republicans said they would prefer less drama from the White House but generally reserved judgment on reports of President Trump's sharing of potentially classified information. They said they weren't sure how to sort out accusations by anonymous sources in news articles.

May 16, 2017

Trump administration encourages states to ask for Obamacare waivers

The Trump administration on Tuesday encouraged states to ask for Obamacare waivers to set up high-risk pools, creating a pathway for interested states to begin to adopt key parts of the GOP's repeal plans even before they pass a bill through Congress.

May 16, 2017

GOP lawmakers hold fire against Trump — at least for now

Republicans said they'd prefer less "drama" coming from the White House, but generally reserved judgment on the latest reports on President Trump's sharing of potentially classified information, saying they weren't sure how to sort out accusations by anonymous sources in news articles.

May 16, 2017