Administration to help fix state websites
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is coming to the aid of states that had technical problems running their own health-care websites.
The federal Health and Human Services Department quietly told states Thursday that residents who were unable to sign up because of technical problems may still get federal tax credits if they bought private insurance outside of the new online insurance exchanges.
Until now the administration has stressed that the only place to get taxpayer-subsidized insurance under President Barack Obama’s health law is through the new online markets, also called exchanges.
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, whose state-run exchange has been plagued by problems, hailed the accommodation.
Senate fails to advance veterans benefits bill
WASHINGTON – A divided Senate on Thursday derailed Democratic legislation that would have provided $21 billion for medical, education and job-training benefits for the nation’s veterans. The bill fell victim to election-year disputes over spending and fresh penalties against Iran.
Each party covets the allegiance of the country’s 22 million veterans and their families, and each party blamed the other for turning the effort into a chess match aimed at forcing politically embarrassing votes.
Republicans used a procedural move to block the bill after Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chided GOP lawmakers about their priorities.
The fight over priorities demonstrated again the bitter divisions that have restrained the legislative process in recent years.
Republicans criticized how most of Sanders’ bill was paid for with unspent money from the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and the winding down of American military involvement in Afghanistan
Associated Press
