Dems push election-season health care bill toward House OK
Source: AP
By ALAN FRAM
WASHINGTON (AP) Democrats pushed a strengthening of Obamacare patient protections toward House passage Monday, an effort they hoped would help them sharpen the coronavirus pandemic and President Donald Trumps efforts to scuttle the increasingly popular law into a lethal election-year weapon.
The campaign-season bill seemed certain to move through the House along partisan lines. It has no chance of passing the Republican-led Senate and the White House threatened a veto, but the showdown underscored that health care looms as a major battleground in this years elections.
The legislation would increase subsidies that lower-earning people would receive to pay for coverage. It would cut federal payments to states that dont expand Medicaid coverage to more Americans and let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
For Democrats, the bill was a chance to showcase their support for expanding coverage under former President Barack Obamas 2010 law. The statute has resulted in around 20 million additional people getting coverage and required insurers to cover beneficiaries with preexisting medical conditions and include children up to age 26 under their parents policies.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, June 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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