Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., opened a hearing on high drug prices calling for his colleagues not to devolve into partisan rhetoric after the last drug prices hearing went awry due to Democrats focusing on Obamacare.
“Senators wanted to talk about other issues, namely the Affordable Care Act,” Alexander said Tuesday at the onset of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing.
Alexander, who chairs the committee, was referring to the last contentious hearing in June that was supposed to be on problems with high drug prices. However, Democrats were incensed Republicans were behind closed doors drafting a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare and used the hearing to lash out at the moves.
Republicans failed to pass that bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, in late July, alongside other repeal bills. A last-minute attempt to repeal the law also failed in late September and now Republicans have pivoted to passing tax reform.
Alexander was upset during that hearing that Democrats were not focusing on high drug prices, the reason for the hearing.
But Obamacare talk was present at the Tuesday hearing.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said President Trump has taken “unilateral steps to cause chaos” in the individual market. The market includes Obamacare’s exchanges and is used by people that don’t get insurance through their job or the government.
Murray was referring to Trump’s decision Thursday to cut off payments to insurers to reimburse them for lowering copays and deductibles for low-income customers.
Insurers are still required to lower the out-of-pocket costs for low-income Obamacare enrollees and are expected to raise premiums for those on the exchange to recoup the costs.
“That pattern of governing by sabotage is reckless and appalling,” Murray said. “It makes it more critical that Congress can undo the damage that was caused.”
Murray and Alexander are working on a narrow bipartisan deal to fund the payments in exchange for reforms to Obamacare.
