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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

**FILE** Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (right), Kentucky Republican, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 29, 2011, as Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican, looks on. (Associated Press)

Senate GOP: HHS may have purposely misled on Obamacare subsidies

A trio of top Senate Republicans have asked the Health and Human Services Department's inspector general to look at whether the agency misrepresented its ability to verify Obamacare consumers' incomes and issue the correct amount in subsidies to help them buy coverage on the new health exchanges.

May 27, 2014
FILE - In this March 31, 2014 file photo, navigator John Jones explains the many options to a client seeking help buying health insurance at the Family Guidance Center in Springfield, Ill. According to a new report published Monday, April 28, 2014, by market research firm Avalere Health, the click-by-click hunt for a health plan that would cover a particular drug or a favorite doctor proved frustrating for many consumers navigating the new insurance exchanges. It’s the first systematic analysis of consumer experience on the new insurance exchanges. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

Obamacare enrollees happy with coverage: survey

A new survey released by Enroll America, a nonprofit and Obama administration ally that rallied people to Obamacare, shows largely positive reviews from people who picked up coverage because of the law during its six-month enrollment period.

May 27, 2014
Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said that a state-built health exchange is the best option for Idaho, though he left the final decision up to the state legislature, which convenes in January. Nearly half of the states, however, will not be setting up their own exchanges. (Associated Press)

Idaho moving forward with state-run Obamacare exchange

Officials in Idaho say they're undaunted by the well-documented failures of Obamacare exchanges in neighboring states and are moving full-steam ahead with plans to launch their own web portal this November.

May 26, 2014
**FILE** Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, speaks Sept. 4, 2013, with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Associated Press)

Sen. Chris Murphy slams states that will not expand Medicaid

Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat and the Senate's top cheerleader for Obamacare of late, said millions more Americans could be covered if Republican-led states decided to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

May 22, 2014
Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President Barack Obama’s nominee to become secretary of Health and Human Services, appears before the Senate Finance Committee for her confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Burwell has found favor with both Republicans and Democrats in her current role as the head of the Office of Management and Budget and would replace Kathleen Sebelius who resigned last month after presiding over the Affordable Care Act and its problematic rollout. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate panel easily approves Obama pick to head HHS

The Senate Finance Committee sent Sylvia Mathews Burwell's nomination to head the Health and Human Services Department to the full chamber Wednesday, clearing the way for President Obama's budget chief to become the new face of Obamacare and oversee an agency responsible for about $1 trillion in federal spending.

May 21, 2014
Gov. Steve Beshear, Kentucky Democrat, told The Washington Times in January the success of his state's Obamacare exchange was a result of extensive testing and a clean website design that forsook bells and whistles in favor of convenience. Kentucky was one of four states that relied on Deloitte Consulting for its exchange and enjoyed a relatively smooth rollout. (Associated Press)

Deloitte’s Obamacare exchange success gains attention

The Obamacare rollout last fall was a well-documented disaster in many places, leading states and the federal government to drop their contractors or withhold payment for their work. But in a noticeable pattern, state-run health exchanges managed by Deloitte Consulting emerged relatively unscathed from the experience, and more are turning to the company for help.

May 19, 2014