WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With the White House already reeling from three major controversies, some Republican lawmakers are zeroing in on what they perceive is another possible scandal tied to President Barack Obama’s landmark health reform law just as it nears implementation.

On top of the troubles the administration is facing over its handling of the attack on the Benghazi mission, the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups, and the Justice Department’s seizure of Associated Press phone records, Republicans hope to target Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With the White House already reeling from three major controversies, some Republican lawmakers are zeroing in on what they perceive is another possible scandal tied to President Barack Obama’s landmark health reform law just as it nears implementation.

On top of the troubles the administration is facing over its handling of the attack on the Benghazi mission, the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups, and the Justice Department’s seizure of Associated Press phone records, Republicans hope to target Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law on Thursday in a symbolic move aimed as much at healing internal Republican rifts as demonstrating dogged party opposition to “Obamacare.”

The 229-195 vote occurred largely along party lines and marked the 37th time the House has voted to repeal or defund the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is now in the final months before full implementation on January 1. Like previous attempts to dismantle the law, the measure will likely go nowhere in the Democratic-run Senate.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Marilyn Tavenner, a former nurse and hospital company executive, as the first full-fledged administrator for the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs since 2006.

In a rare show of bipartisanship on a healthcare issue, senators voted 91-7 to back President Barack Obama’s nominee for administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an $820 billion agency that oversees the bulk of federal healthcare spending and healthcare reform.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare reform law will extend coverage to 2 million fewer uninsured Americans than expected only a few months ago, congressional researchers said on Tuesday.

A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said 25 million people who currently lack insurance will obtain coverage through subsidized marketplaces or an expanded Medicaid program over the coming decade, down from a February CBO estimate of 27 million people.

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s
landmark healthcare reform law will extend coverage to 2 million
fewer uninsured Americans than expected only a few months ago,
congressional researchers said on Tuesday.

A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget
Office said 25 million people who currently lack insurance will
obtain coverage through subsidized marketplaces or an expanded
Medicaid program over the coming decade, down from a February
CBO estimate of 27 million people.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal officials charged 89 people including doctors, nurses and other medical professionals in eight U.S. cities on Tuesday with Medicare fraud schemes that the government said totaled $223 million in false billings.

In the latest big Medicare fraud crackdown, more than 400 law enforcement officers including FBI agents fanned out in Miami, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and other cities to make arrests. Authorities said suspects posed as physicians, preyed on the poor and otherwise scammed the $590 billion healthcare program with phony or unnecessary bills.

WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) – An Obama administration
effort to raise private donations to help implement President
Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law came under fire on Monday
from congressional Republicans who claim the action could
violate the law.

As the Republican-controlled House of Representatives
prepared to mount a new vote this week to try to repeal the law,
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton asked
the administration to identify the companies and organizations
that have received fundraising calls from Health and Human
Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is asking companies for financial donations to help implement President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul, months before it is due to take effect.

In telephone calls that began around March 23, officials say, Obama’s top healthcare adviser has been seeking assistance from companies in the healthcare field and other industries as well as from healthcare providers, patient advocacy groups, churches and other charitable organizations.

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) – The White House announced a
new $150 million initiative on Thursday to get uninsured
Americans covered under President Barack Obama’s healthcare
reform law, as Republicans raised the volume on their calls for
“Obamacare” to be repealed.

The enrollment program will funnel money to about 1,200
community health centers to hire and train thousands of workers
who will help people obtain coverage through new subsidized
online marketplaces and an expanded Medicaid program for the
poor.