The House of Representatives approved a three-part bill Thursday to lower prescription drug prices, along with measures to reverse Trump administration regulatory changes to Obamacare that Democrats view as sabotage. The final vote was 234-183.
The bill’s drug provisions, which passed at the committee level with Republican support, aim to outlaw what lawmakers call unfair barriers that impede generic drug entry into the marketplace.
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Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said the new measures would “prevent some manufacturers from manipulating the system to extend their monopolies at the expense of consumers.”
But the Obamacare provisions of the legislation led Republicans to oppose it. One measure, which Republicans decried as a bailout, would restore funding to outreach programs that educate people about their insurance plan options under Obamacare and help them enroll. Another would reverse Trump’s efforts to bolster short-term health plans, which critics call “junk plans,” as alternatives to Obamacare plans.
Trump has vowed to repeal Obamacare, and the legislation passed Thursday has little change of passing in the Republican-controlled Senate.
“Representative Walden worked very hard to keep the bills bipartisan but it’s unfortunate that Pelosi inserted those poison pills,” House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said to the Washington Examiner. “Democrats are going to play those games but if they want to reach a deal, there’s a very bipartisan deal to be made.”
In 2017, the Senate came close to agreeing on a bipartisan bill to protect Obamacare, introduced by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash. What came to be known as Alexander-Murray sought to stabilize Obamacare exchanges and lower plan premiums, but it ultimately failed after partisan disagreement over the inclusion of abortion language at the last minute.
