RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press

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  GOP hopes IRS scandal will snag PPACA

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  May 20, 2013

  The head of IRS PPACA implementation efforts was the head of the tax-exempt division.

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  Marilyn Tavenner wins confirmation for CMS post

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  May 16, 2013

  Members of the Senate endorsed her performance with a 91-7 vote.

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  Specialty drugs: What will sick people do?

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  May 13, 2013

  Some states will be asking patients to pay a much higher share of the cost of expensive, brand-name drugs.

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  States: PCIP running out of cash

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  May 3, 2013

  A contract delivered Friday says states will be reimbursed "up to a ceiling."

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  Obama administration simplifies health care form

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  April 30, 2013

  Medicare chief Marilyn Tavenner called the new draft application "significantly shorter than industry standards."

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  Help for 'uninsurables' mired in political battle

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  April 23, 2013

  Republicans are offering to bail out a financially strapped program in the federal health overhaul, one that's a lifeline for uninsured people with medical problems.

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  Traps face states that spurn Medicaid expansion money

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  April 22, 2013

  Without expansion, a state could help a worker who earns $11,700 but not one who earns $11,400.

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  Top Dem sees 'train wreck' for PPACA

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  April 17, 2013

  A senior Democratic senator who helped write the health care law sees bad things ahead because of bumbling implementation.

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  Tracking PPACA in Obama's budget isn't easy

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  April 11, 2013

  You'd think there'd be a chapter in the new 2014 budget that lays it all out. Wrong.

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  Budget: cover uninsured, trim Medicare, tax cigs

  By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar  |  April 10, 2013

  The budget for the Health and Human Services department would rise to more than $949 billion, roughly one-fourth of all federal spending.