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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

The House budget plan, written by Budget Chairman Tom Price, Georgia Republican, calls for spending $5.5 trillion less than currently projected over the next decade, while the Senate plan, written by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming, would spent $5.1 trillion less — a difference analysts said should be easily bridged when the two chambers meet in a conference committee. (Associated Press)

Republicans work against deadline to pass budget; Obamacare hopes hang in balance

Congressional Republicans are likely to miss an April 15 deadline the law sets for passing a unified budget, with lawmakers set to return from a two-week break on April 13, with plenty of differences still to hash out between the House and Senate over everything from the size of spending cuts to revamping Medicare.

April 9, 2015
In this Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015 photo, a laptop shows the HealthCare.com web site during an Affordable Care Act enrollment event at the Fort Worth Public Library in Fort Worth, Texas. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Health care coalition demands better data from Obamacare

Insurers, a tech company and advocacy groups banded together Thursday to demand that Obamacare provide better data to consumers on price and quality, saying it's easier to compare hotel rooms than it is to choose between health care plans.

April 9, 2015
Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican, said the "doc fix" would cost taxpayers a net $141 billion over the next decade, and would bring Congress disrepute. (Associated Press)

Conservatives push back against Medicare ‘doc fix’

Conservatives are pressing GOP congressional leaders to scrap or alter the Medicare doctor payments deal they struck with Democrats last month, insisting that Congress at least find a way to pay for all of the reforms so taxpayers don't get stuck with higher bills or debt later this decade.

April 8, 2015
President Barack Obama speaks during his visit to Howard University in Washington, Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Obama visited the university's medical center to discuss the impact of climate change on public health and steps his administration is taking to reduce the health impacts of climate change on communities. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama: Health law deserves an ‘8’ out of 10

President Obama gives his signature health law an "8" on a scale from 1 to 10, saying there is still room to improve the 2010 overhaul that's been a political flashpoint since passage.

April 8, 2015
"Colorado's decision to 'legalize' marijuana and the federal government's subsequent decision to limit enforcement of federal law in Colorado have combined to cause harm in Kansas ...," Derek Schmidt, Kansas Attorney General, said. (associated press)

Colorado’s neighbors want to stop its marijuana trade

Colorado's decision to legalize marijuana is stirring the pot in Nebraska and Oklahoma, where top officials say they're dealing with spillover effects from their neighbor's bright-line breach of federal law.

April 2, 2015
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner meets with Salim al-Jabouri, speaker of the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Justice wants John Boehner-Obama lawsuit tossed

The Obama administration is refusing to flinch in its claim that House Speaker John A. Boehner used novel and invalid legal theories to sue over how the president implemented his signature health law.

April 1, 2015
Schiavo

Obama regrets not speaking up for Terri Schiavo

The Rev. Frank Pavone, a pro-life leader, was one of the few able to visit Terri Schiavo in the final days of her life 10 years ago as she lay in a hospital bed, fixed to a feeding tube, the subject of an intense national debate over euthanasia.

March 30, 2015
House Speaker John A. Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi reached a rare bipartisan accord with last month's passage of H.R. 2, which reforms Medicare physician reimbursements. (Associated Press)

Medicare payments to doctors expire April 1

Full payments for doctors who treat Medicare patients run out on April 1, but the Obama administration has a two-week grace period before it would actually have to begin cutting payments, giving Congress a short window next month to fix the problem before earning the ire of physicians nationwide.

March 29, 2015
Rep. Paul Ryan is among eight Republican lawmakers gathering at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to mark “Tax Day Eve.” (Associated Press)

Paul Ryan: GOP must have Obamacare replacement by late June

House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan says Republicans must have a plan to replace Obamacare by late June, a deadline that coincides with a Supreme Court decision that could blow a huge hole in the controversial law.

March 26, 2015
Rep. Michael C. Burgess, Texas Republican. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ** FILE **

House passes Medicare payment overhaul in rare spark of bipartisanship

The normally fractious House made governing look effortless Thursday, passing a long-sought deal to permanently cancel Medicare budget cuts that eat into doctors' pay, erasing a perennial political headache while praying that a set of replacement reforms will help pay for some of the $200 billion in new spending.

March 26, 2015
Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat said of the Medicare language, "is it as severe as the provision in the trafficking bill? No, so we'll see where we come out." The Medicare bill would repeal an outdated budget tool that Congress overrides each year, anyway, through a so-called "doc fix," even when the formula calls for a cut to doctors' pay. (Associated Press)

Democrats may not sink House bill on doctors’ pay

Senate Democrats said Wednesday there is daylight between a pro-life provision they opposed in an anti-trafficking bill and abortion language tucked into a House deal to overhaul Medicare, signaling their objections may not torpedo long-sought reforms to how the health program pays doctors.

March 25, 2015
FILE - In this March 17, 2015, file photo, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Officials say House Republicans deepened recommended budget savings from the government’s chief health care program for the poor by about $140 billion in recent weeks to offset part of the cost of higher payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

GOP House bill would balance budget, cut Obamacare

House Republicans came together Wednesday to pass a budget that balances within a decade, cutting spending by over $5 trillion, repealing Obamacare and turning Medicare into a voucherlike system along the way.

March 25, 2015