The Obama administration will tighten the rules for people who enroll in insurance through HealthCare.gov outside of official enrollment periods, hoping to hold down costs that insurers blamed on late sign-ups.

With full federal funding for expanding Medicaid set to expire at the end this year, President Barack Obama is proposing to indefinitely extend the health law provision for any of the 19 states that have not yet adopted the enhanced eligibility.

The rate of Hispanic children without health insurance fell to a historic low in 2014, the first year that key parts of Obamacare took effect, but they still represent a disproportionate share of the nation’s uninsured youth, according to a new study.

About 8.7 million customers had selected a plan on the federal HealthCare.gov exchange as of Jan. 9, according to a government update Wednesday that showed only a slight uptick in consumer interest between crucial deadlines to get covered under Obamacare in 2016.

In a battle between two Capitol lobbying heavyweights — health insurers and pharmaceutical companies — the latter scored a major win Tuesday, beating back a measure designed to provide more transparency on prescription drug pricing.

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act's so-called "Cadillac" tax won a major victory last month when President Obama delayed its implementation for two years via a spending package.