Harris County officials, including Commissioner Rodney Ellis, are emphasizing the importance of enrolling in health insurance options available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before the January 15 deadline.

Americans can start signing up Friday for health care coverage offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplace for 2025.

People with private health insurance would be able to pick up over-the-counter methods like condoms, the “morning after” pill and birth control pills for free under a new rule the White House proposed on Monday.

Fifteen states have sued the Biden administration over a rule that is expected to allow 100,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to enroll next year in the federal Affordable Care Act’s health insurance.

The final enrollment numbers, released Wednesday, touched off discussions over whether Texas should create its own marketplace exchange.

Federal law that prohibits insurers from denying healthcare based on preexisting conditions, or kicking dependents off their parent’s coverage until age 26 is now codified separately into Michigan law.

The government can keep enforcing “Obamacare” requirements that say health insurance plans must cover preventative care, amid a legal battle over the mandates.

A federal judge’s ruling striking down a key part of the Affordable Care Act has been temporarily put on hold by a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

A federal judge in Texas who previously ruled to dismantle the Affordable Care Act struck down a narrower but key part of the nation’s health law.

Former President Barack Obama is headed to Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin in the closing days of the 2022 campaign to give a boost to Democrats running for governor, senator and on down the ballot.

More families who are offered expensive health insurance premiums from their employers will get a discount if they sign up instead for coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace this fall.

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that required coverage of an HIV prevention drug under the Affordable Care Act violates a Texas employer’s religious beliefs and undercut the broader system that determines which preventive drugs are covered in the U.S. The ruling was handed down Wednesday by Fort Worth-based U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, who ruled in 2018 that the entire ACA is invalid.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s ruling could threaten access to sexual and reproductive health care for more than 150 million working Americans on employer-sponsored health care plans. The ruling will likely be appealed.

Former President Barack Obama has returned to the White House — for a few hours, to celebrate the 12th anniversary of his signature health care law.

People looking for health insurance in the grip of the omicron surge have through Saturday to sign up for taxpayer-subsidized private coverage under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.

Patient advocates and some state governments say hospitals must do more to help patients deal with medical bills before the debt winds up in collections.

Though increasingly conservative in makeup, the Supreme Court rejected the latest major Republican-led effort to kill the national health care law known as “Obamacare” on Thursday, preserving insurance coverage for millions of Americans.

The 7-2 ruling said the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to sue over the law. The court’s ruling did not include an official opinion on whether the law, commonly known as Obamacare, was constitutional.

The Supreme Court has dismissed a third major challenge to “Obamacare," preserving health insurance coverage for millions of Americans.

President Joe Biden says 1 million Americans have signed up for health insurance under “Obamacare” during a special enrollment period for people needing coverage during the coronavirus pandemic.

“What we’re going to do this time is let people know exactly what they’ve got,” House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn told The Associated Press in a recent interview. In Clyburn’s home state of South Carolina, that means more than $2 billion for state government coffers to be allocated by state legislators. “That’s where we made the big mistake with” both 2010 relief packages, Clyburn said. Under the plan, Badger will receive a $4,200 direct payment and a $6,600 child tax credit, as well as an increase in food assistance vouchers. Ad“It’s going to help take care of some bills,” Badger said.

I haven’t done any counting yet.”On health care, the numbers suggest that consumers' fears about medical costs could be eased by the new rescue package. States that run their own health insurance markets will offer the same enhanced assistance, although timetables for implementation may vary. Biden has opened up the health insurance markets as part of his coronavirus response. The higher health care subsidies are keyed to the pandemic and expire by the end of 2022. But it represents the biggest expansion of federal help for health insurance since the ACA's enactment.

AdBecause health insurance is so complicated, consumers are going to have to do their homework to figure out if there's something in the bill for them. And health care benefits are not like stimulus checks that can be blasted out. Her organization advocates on behalf of low-income people and was an early supporter of the health care law. AdThe bill would change the formulas for health insurance tax credits to make them more generous for most people, and also allow a wider number of individuals to qualify. Republicans cite the health insurance provisions as an example of coronavirus overreach by Democrats.

AdBecause health insurance is so complicated, consumers are going to have to do their homework to figure out if there's something in the bill for them. And health care benefits are not like stimulus checks that can be blasted out. Her organization advocates on behalf of low-income people and was an early supporter of the health care law. AdThe bill would change the formulas for health insurance tax credits to make them more generous for most people, and also allow a wider number of individuals to qualify. Republicans cite the health insurance provisions as an example of coronavirus overreach by Democrats.

Government figures out Friday, Dec. 18 show sign-ups for Obamacare health insurance plans are trending more than 6% higher amid surging coronavirus cases and deepening economic misery. Numbers from New Jersey and Pennsylvania were not counted in Friday's tally from HealthCare.gov states. President Donald Trump failed to repeal “Obamacare" his first year in office, an early defeat he never forgot. Nonetheless, the Trump administration ignored calls to provide a special sign-up period related to the pandemic, something President-elect Joe Biden has said he will do. “This is the largest increase in HealthCare.gov enrollment since 2016 and it's the only increase during the Trump administration,” said Joshua Peck, who once served as marketing chief for the program.

WASHINGTON – A crush of sign-ups expected Tuesday on the last day of open enrollment for HealthCare.gov could help solidify the standing of “Obamacare” as an improbable survivor in the Donald Trump years. In 36 states that use HealthCare.gov,- Dec. 15 is deadline day for coverage that starts Jan. 1, while another 14 states and Washington, D.C., have later dates. Analysts and advocates who follow the annual insurance sign-ups say interest has gotten stronger with the coronavirus pandemic gripping the nation. Medicaid expansion, another component of the health law, covers about 12 million people. Typically people who start the enrollment process before the end of deadline day are given a chance to complete it.

In 36 states that use HealthCare.gov,- Dec. 15 is deadline day for coverage that starts Jan. 1, while another 14 states and Washington, D.C., have later dates. Analysts and advocates who follow the annual insurance sign-ups say interest has gotten stronger with the coronavirus pandemic gripping the nation. Medicaid expansion, another component of the health law, covers about 12 million people. Trump administration officials say what they have done is to focus on the smooth operation of the HealthCare.gov website for those who may want the coverage. Typically people who start the enrollment process before the end of deadline day are given a chance to complete it.

Separately, Biden picked a Harvard infectious disease expert, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden also announced other top members of his health care team, though some posts remain unfilled. But overseeing the coronavirus response will be the most complicated task he has ever contemplated. The core components of HHS are the boots on the ground of the government’s coronavirus response. Early in California’s coronavirus response, Becerra defended broad shutdowns Gov.

About 26 million people were uninsured last year — before the wave of layoffs that followed the virus shutdown this spring. Nonetheless, research from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that about 6 in 10 uninsured people would be eligible for some form of subsidized coverage under the Obama-era law. Open enrollment for subsidized private plans through HealthCare.gov is underway and ends Dec. 15. Additionally, the Trump administration is taking no special action to promote the availability of coverage at a time of greater need for many. About 11.4 million people currently have private coverage under the ACA.

Joe Biden at the National Education Association presidential forum in Houston on July 5, 2019 Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune(Audio unavailable. Click here to listen on texastribune.org.) On this week's TribCast, Matthew talks with Ross, Abby and Emma about the Texas GOP's response to the presidential election, the Affordable Care Act before the U.S. Supreme Court and the upcoming legislative session.

Key justices on the U.S. Supreme Court seemed skeptical Tuesday morning of Texas’ argument that if one key provision of the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, the entirety of the sprawling health law must fall. He pointed to various pieces of the law which describe the individual mandate as an “essential” part of the law that powers the rest of its functions. Whether the individual mandate itself survives was less clear. Texas has won early success in the case, with a federal judge declaring the entire law unconstitutional in a ruling that has been put on pause as litigation proceeds. Hawkins, who argued for Texas at the high court on Tuesday, is one of a few senior deputies who remained at the agency after the scandal.

The high court ruled eight years ago to leave intact the essential components of the law known as “Obamacare,” but Trump and his Republican allies are seeking to have it overturned. Trump and his allies seemed determined to make Biden’s transition as difficult as possible. French President Emmanuel Macron met with Biden via video conference and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also congratulated Biden on his election. The closed-door meeting marked the first time a Biden transition official has addressed the full Senate caucus since last week’s election. The GSA inaction could continue to deny Biden security briefings, which he received periodically before the election, as well as delaying security clearances and staffing decisions.

Hong Kong and Singapore say they have agreed to a bilateral air travel bubble, re-establishing travel links as coronavirus infections in both cities decline. -- Maryland will reduce indoor operations for bars and restaurants from 75% to 50% in response to rising coronavirus cases and increased hospitalizations. Maryland also reported 1,338 new coronavirus cases Tuesday — the seventh straight day of at least 1,000 cases. ___WASHINGTON — The U.S. has surpassed 1 million new confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of November. The El Paso County sheriff’s office says two of the employees were hospitalized over the weekend as coronavirus cases surged at the facility.

WASHINGTON – When the Supreme Court weighs the fate of “Obamacare,” arguments will revolve around arcane points of law like severability — whether the justices can surgically snip out part of the law and leave the rest. But what’s at stake has real-world consequences for just about every American, as well as the health care industry, a major source of jobs and tax revenues. COVID-19 would become America's newest pre-existing condition, for more than 10 million people who have tested positive so far. Many Republicans, meanwhile, want to scale back the government's support for health care. Health care has only gotten more complicated.

I think, frankly, that they wanted the court to do that, but that’s not our job,” Roberts said. The Supreme Court could have heard the case before the election, but set arguments for a week after. Without the penalty, the law's mandate to have health insurance is unconstitutional, the GOP-led states argue. However, enrollment in the law’s insurance markets has stayed relatively stable at more than 11 million people, even after the effective date of the penalty’s elimination in 2019. The case could also be rendered irrelevant if the new Congress were to restore a modest penalty for not buying health insurance.

WASHINGTON – When the Supreme Court weighs the fate of “Obamacare” on Tuesday, arguments will revolve around arcane points of law like severability — whether the justices can surgically snip out part of the law and leave the rest. But what’s at stake has real-world consequences for just about every American, as well as the health care industry, a major source of jobs and tax revenues. COVID-19 would become America's newest pre-existing condition, for more than 10 million people who have tested positive so far. Many Republicans, meanwhile, want to scale back the government's support for health care. Health care has only gotten more complicated.

Texas, leading a coalition of Republican states, heads to the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday morning to argue that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional and should be struck down in its entirety. Health insurance and popular benefits for millions of Americans, including some 1 million in Texas who have subsidized health insurance plans under the law. Texas argues that the entire fate of the act turns on one key provision, the individual mandate. The state’s legal team goes a step further than that — and here’s where it loses some legal scholars. Texas claims that if the individual mandate must fall as unconstitutional, the entirety of the sprawling health law has to go with it.

Monday is the last day for open enrollment at healthcare.gov. It’s possible this year’s enrollment could be more important than ever. “The website has had enrollment issues in the past," Peck said. It might be cheaper than you thinkOne of the most common reasons for avoiding coverage is cost. Free help is availableOne of the easiest ways to navigate the plans is to go to localhelp.healthcare.gov.

Images from the collection of the Supreme Court of the United States may not be used for any advertising or endorsement purposes, or in any way that might convey a false impression of Supreme Court sponsorship or approval.) WASHINGTON – Justice Amy Coney Barrett is expected to join her Supreme Court colleagues on Monday to hear arguments for the first time. Also because of the pandemic, the court has been allowing the public to listen to arguments in real time, a change from the past. Participating in oral arguments will be among the first things Barrett will do after being confirmed last week in a 52-48 virtual party-line vote, with Republicans overpowering Democrats to install President Donald Trump's third Supreme Court nominee. As the junior justice, Barrett will ask her questions last.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Supreme Court, posed for a photo on Capitol Hill last week. The Senate confirmed her nomination to the high court Monday. WASHINGTON — With the support of Texas' two senators, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday evening. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Republicans, were early and robust backers of President Donald Trump's nomination of Barrett. Barrett is President Trump's third confirmed nominee of his first term.

Never has the Senate confirmed a Supreme Court nominee so close to a presidential election. As the Senate committee met, protesters, some shouting “Stop the confirmation!” demonstrated outside the Capitol across the street from the Supreme Court. Unable to stop the confirmation, Democrats have been trying unsuccessfully to stall the process so the winner of the White House race could name the new nominee. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the Senate, Trump’s pick for the court is almost certain to be confirmed. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, called Barrett a “clear and present danger” to the values Ginsburg fought for on the court.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett listens during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – The Latest on the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett (all times local):6:05 p.m.Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing has gaveled to a close for the day, wrapping up three days of testimony. ___HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BARRETT HEARINGS:Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was back on Capitol Hill for the third day of her confirmation hearings. The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett paused for about 40 minutes because of audio difficulties. ___9 a.m.Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is back before the Senate Judiciary Committee to face more questions from senators at her confirmation hearing.

Yes, the Trump administration is asking the high court to throw out the Obama-era healthcare law, and if she is confirmed quickly Barrett could be on the Supreme Court when the court hears the case. Democrats also repeatedly brought up words Barrett wrote in 2017, when she was a law professor, criticizing Chief Justice John Roberts' 2012 opinion saving the Affordable Care Act. Barrett wrote that Roberts had "pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute." But the court could simply “sever” the mandate from the law and leave the rest of the law alone. One other key observer of the case suggested the Affordable Care Act would likely stand.

Yes, the Trump administration is asking the high court to throw out the Obama-era healthcare law, and if she is confirmed quickly Barrett could be on the Supreme Court when the court hears the case. Democrats also repeatedly brought up words Barrett wrote in 2017, when she was a law professor, criticizing Chief Justice John Roberts' 2012 opinion saving the Affordable Care Act. Barrett wrote that Roberts had "pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute." But the court could simply “sever” the mandate from the law and leave the rest of the law alone. One other key observer of the case suggested the Affordable Care Act would likely stand.

In this Oct. 1, 2020, photo, Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett, meets with Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., at the Capitol in Washington. Confirmation hearings begin Monday for President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. If confirmed, the 48-year-old appeals court judge would fill the seat of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month. No Supreme Court has ever been confirmed so close to a presidential election. Barrett also is the most openly anti-abortion Supreme Court nominee in decades and her vote could provide a majority to restrict if not overturn abortion rights.

Barrett’s confirmation would cement a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, and she has compared her approach to the law generally to that of her mentor, Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the dissenters in the gay marriage case. Reversing the court’s decision in the gay marriage case would seem a tall order, but Thomas’ statement underscored liberals’ fears that the court could roll back some of their hardest-fought gains. The justices seemed prepared to uphold Delaware's political party provision, and the argument passed without any comment about the partisan fighting over the Supreme Court’s makeup. The justices will hear a total of 10 arguments this week and next, but the term is so far short on high-profile cases. The justices last heard argument in their courtroom in February and skipped planned arguments in March and April before hearing cases by phone in May.

FILE - In this May 3, 2020, file photo the setting sun shines on the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Supreme Court opens a new term Monday, Oct. 5. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court opens a new term Monday with Republicans on the cusp of realizing a dream 50 years in the making, a solid conservative majority that might roll back abortion rights, expand gun rights and shrink the power of government. Barrett's confirmation would cement a 6-3 conservative majority and diminish Chief Justice John Roberts' ability to moderate the court's decisions. Four years ago, Republicans were content to leave a Supreme Court seat open through the election, even if it meant having an eight-justice court decide any election challenges.

WASHINGTON – About 2.5 million more working-age Americans were uninsured last year, even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, according to a government report issued Wednesday. The increase in the uninsured rate came even as the economy was chugging along in an extended period of low unemployment. Lack of affordable coverage was the top reason given for being uninsured, cited by nearly 3 out of 4 surveyed. In 2018, 26.3 million adults ages 18 to 64 were uninsured. Initial estimates from private experts that suggested more than 25 million people could have become uninsured due to pandemic job losses appear to have been too high.

Barrett tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that the White House initially contacted her Sept. 19, the day after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, creating the court vacancy. Trump made the offer when she visited the White House on Monday, Sept. 21, “and I accepted,” she wrote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was “even more convinced” of Barrett after their brief meeting. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold hearings Oct. 12. At the Capitol, Vice President Mike Pence said Barrett “represents the best of America.” The White House formally submitted the nomination Tuesday.

The court will hear a case challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care law just after the election, adding to the urgency of the issue. On Monday, Harris told voters in North Carolina that without the health care law, birth control coverage could be eliminated and pregnancy could be considered a preexisting condition. “We will not give up, and we will not give in,” Harris said of the Supreme Court fight. In focusing on health care, Democrats would be taking a different posture than in the last Supreme Court confirmation fight, when they argued that then-nominee Brett Kavanaugh was not fit to be a justice. They will also tie the health care issue to the pandemic and to abortion rights, the aides said.

A Texas-led challenge to the Affordable Care Act will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in November. If Obamacare remains struck down on appeal Texas will be ready with replacement health care insurance that includes coverage for preexisting conditions. They say the individual mandate remains constitutional, but also that even if it were not, the rest of the Affordable Care Act would still stand. Most provisions of the Affordable Care Act have survived despite numerous legal challenges, but Ginsburg’s death means the loss of one of the law’s staunchest defenders on the high court. The least likely outcome, according to legal scholars of many political persuasions, is the court striking down the Affordable Care Act in its entirety.

Trump spoke at an airport hangar in swing-state North Carolina to a crowd that included white-coated, mask-wearing health care workers. For Trump, health care represents a major piece of unfinished business. Democrats, unable to slow the Republican march to Senate confirmation of a replacement for Ginsburg, are ramping up their election-year health care messaging. The gap narrowed for lowering costs of health care: 48% named Biden, while 42% picked Trump. The scramble to show concrete accomplishments on health care comes as Trump is chafing under criticism that he never delivered a Republican alternative to Obamacare.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the high court, died last week due to complications from cancer. Clinton’s advice to Democrats: Play up the risks to health care access that could result from a more conservative high court overturning laws such as the Affordable Care Act. Instead, she said, Democrats should “clearly define what the fight is.”“Ultimately this fight, it seems to me, is about health care,” Clinton said. “Health care is literally before the court. She claimed those same people will not be eligible for affordable health insurance plans if Republicans take control of the Supreme Court and strike down the Affordable Care Act.

A narrow ruling might leave most of the law intact, sparing protections for people with preexisting conditions, Medicaid expansion, health insurance subsidies and other core elements. It's one the few avenues Democrats have to try to block a Supreme Court nominee in the GOP-controlled chamber. In recent Kaiser polling, 49% of Americans viewed the health law favorably, while 42% did not. The latest case to threaten the health law rests on arcane arguments. Brought by Texas and other states, the suit argued that without the tax, the health law's requirement that most Americans carry health insurance was unconstitutional.

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, about the Supreme Court. – Joe Biden on Sunday used the sudden Supreme Court vacancy to reinforce his argument that the upcoming election should be a referendum on President Donald Trump's handling of health care and the coronavirus. Biden kept the focus on health care, which has proven to be a winning issue for Democrats during previous elections and could be even more resonant amid the pandemic. “Millions of Americans are voting because they know their health care hangs in the balance," Biden said during remarks at Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Their refusal to put names to Biden’s potential court pick underscores the political peril that the Supreme Court debate holds for Biden.

For millions of Americans, a job doesn't only mean a paycheck -- it also provides their health insurance. A small piece of good news: There are more options for those who have to buy health insurance on their own these days, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Here's where to look:Obamacare exchangesThose who've recently lost their job-based coverage can check out the policies available on the Affordable Care Act exchanges by going to www.healthcare.gov. But kids could still be eligible for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), depending on the state and their family income. Some employers are continuing to cover their laid-off workers’ health benefits, at least for a short period of time.

HOUSTON – Senator Ted Cruz says he feels energized after ending a marathon session of standing and speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate to draw attention to his fight to de-fund the Affordable Care Act. The Texas Republican began speaking Tuesday afternoon and ended his verbal assault on the health care law nearly 22 hours later. "As a middle-aged cancer survivor I want and need health care," said Parks. "I just admire Ted Cruz. Witt says the new health care law will drive up the cost of coverage for her family of five and they are bracing for the financial hit.