Tag: President Barack Obama

WellPoint expects states to expand Medicaid

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(Reuters) – A top U.S. insurance industry executive on Wednesday predicted that most states will agree to expand their Medicaid programs under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law, despite opposition from more than a dozen Republican governors. “In the long run, the economic benefits to the states will be such that most states will eventually expand Medicaid,” said Richard Zoretic, the executive vice president who oversees Medicaid programs at WellPoint Inc., the-second largest U.S. health insurer. …

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Departing aide expects more assertive Obama in second term

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Nominee for Director of the White House Office for Health Reform DeParle speaks after being introduced by U.S. President Obama in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Americans should expect a more assertive President Barack Obama in his second term as he faces tough battles with Republicans, one of his top aides said on Thursday. Nancy-Ann Deparle, deputy White House chief of staff and one of the highest-ranking women in the White House, is leaving Friday after four years as an architect of Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul. …

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Republicans push alternative to default in debt-ceiling battle

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation to direct the U.S. Treasury to make interest payments on U.S. bonds first and then prioritize other government outlays in case Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. Supporters of the idea see it as a politically palatable alternative to default, which could rattle markets as occurred in the summer of 2011. The likelihood of another market-unsettling event is challenging Republicans to find another idea as they use the debt ceiling as leverage to extract spending cuts from President Barack Obama. …

Senior Obama aide DeParle leaving White House: source

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U.S. President Obama introduces Sebelius as Health and Human Services Secretary in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nancy-Anne DeParle, a top aide to President Barack Obama, is leaving the White House, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday, marking the latest departure of a woman from a senior post in the administration. DeParle, 56, a White House deputy chief of staff, was Obama's point person on his signature healthcare overhaul in 2010. She was also a healthcare adviser to former President Bill Clinton and headed the agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid from 1997-2000. DeParle's departure is for personal reasons after nearly four years at the White House. …

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Senator Rockefeller announces retirement

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Rockefeller of West Virginia addresses Democratic convention in DenverWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller announced on Friday that he will not seek a sixth term in 2014 to represent his home state of West Virginia, which has been trending more Republican in recent years. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, failed to win West Virginia in either of his two races in 2008 and 2012. Rockefeller, 75, could have faced a spirited race next year, especially if Republican Representative Shelley Moore Capito decided to challenge him, as expected. …

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Some conservatives warn Republicans against debt limit fight

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Josten gestures during remarks to the Reuters Washington Summit in the Reuters newsroom in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) – As Republicans in the Congress struggle to find a strategy for forcing big spending cuts on President Barack Obama, some conservative voices are warning against taking the country to the brink of a debt default as the strategy for winning the budget wars. "We would encourage the administration and the Congress of the United States, first and foremost, don't default. That's a bad idea," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Bruce Josten on Thursday. An historic U.S. …

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Florida slashes estimated cost of Medicaid expansion to $3 billion

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TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – In a dramatic about-face, Florida’s health agency now says the cost to state taxpayers of expanding Medicaid under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law would be barely more than a tenth of its original estimate. Governor Rick Scott, a Republican who had fought hard against the reform law known as Obamacare, had complained on Monday that the optional expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare would cost Florida taxpayers $26 billion over the next decade, using the original estimate by the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration. …

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Insight: "Fiscal cliff" fracas: From smiles to distrust to rancor

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Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks to the press after a bipartisan meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss the economy in the Roosevelt Room of the White House(Note: includes graphic language) WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It began so optimistically. On November 16, after their first "fiscal cliff" session with President Barack Obama, the four leaders of Congress had stood in the driveway of the White House shoulder-to-shoulder for what is a rare photo these days, Republicans and Democrats together, smiling. There they were at the microphone, talking about a "framework" for tax reform and deficit reduction. …

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Analysis: Republicans start new Congress bruised and divided

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U.S. House Speaker John Boehner arrives to speak to the media on the "fiscal cliff" in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) – In the wake of bruising fights in their own ranks over the "fiscal cliff" and aid for victims of superstorm Sandy – Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives open a new Congress on Thursday more divided than ever. While their leader, Speaker John Boehner, seems in no danger of losing his position because of the divisions, his ability to speak for his membership in the House appears greatly diminished. That could not come at a worse time for Republicans as they prepare for their next attempt to get more spending cuts out of President Barack Obama. …

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Senate’s "fiscal cliff" bill packed with sweeteners

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate packed an eclectic mix of handouts and takebacks into its last-minute deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” including a measure to repeal part of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare overhaul and a string of special interest tax breaks. At the center of the 157-page bill adopted early Tuesday are provisions to raise taxes on the wealthiest households and to make permanent Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class. The bill now goes to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. …

Obama calls on House to pass fiscal deal "without delay"

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama called on Tuesday for the House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead and pass a “fiscal cliff” deal to extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans and raise tax rates on top earners. “While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay,” Obama said in a statement after the Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve the legislation. “There’s more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I’m willing to do it. …

Republicans put squeeze on Obama in "fiscal cliff" talks

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U.S. House Speaker Boehner speaks at a news conference after a Republican caucus meeting in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Frustrated by their inability to wring more "fiscal cliff" concessions out of President Barack Obama, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives announced Tuesday night that they expect to pass their own tax bill as a backup plan to avert the tax hikes and automatic budget cuts set to occur in January. No one expects the bill, which would extend low tax rates except on income of $1 million and above, to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate. President Barack Obama's latest position puts the threshold for income tax hikes at $400,000. …

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