Republicans cried foul over the inclusion of the ACA measures in the package, since there was bipartisan support for the bills aimed at bringing down drug prices. (Photo: Shutterstock)
With Republicans mostly voting no, the Democratic-controlled House passed a group of health care bills that are aimed not only at lowering the cost of prescription medications but also supporting the Affordable Care Act.
The package passed with a vote of 234 to 183, the New York Times reported. Just five Republicans voted with Democrats because it contained measures designed to protect people with pre-existing conditions—something Republicans have said they support, but continue to vote against—by reining in the sale of short-term health plans that aren't required to sell to people who already have health problems, nor to provide the essential health benefits mandated under the ACA, such as maternity benefits and prescription drug coverage.
The package also seeks to boost funding for ACA navigator groups to help people sign up for coverage under the ACA.
The drug pricing bills would ban “pay for delay” deals in which generic drug manufacturers are paid by brand-name companies to stall on bringing lower-priced generics to market; they would also relax the rules on the exclusive six-month sales period that generic drug makers get when they're the first to bring a generic to market after a brand-name medication goes off patent.
The Hill reports that Republicans cried foul over the inclusion of the ACA measures in the package, since there was bipartisan support for the bills aimed at bringing down drug prices—in fact, they passed unanimously out of the Energy and Commerce Committee—but to vote for them was to appear to support the ACA, something Republicans are determined not to do.
While House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, described the ACA measures as “partisan poison pills,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-MD, said that bundling the bills into a package was necessary to protect the ACA.
“I think, frankly, we have packaged these bills because we think they are all part and parcel of what we pledged to the American people,” Hoyer said. ”That is, bringing down prices and making health care available at a level that they need to protect themselves and their families. I regret that the administration continues to try to undermine the ACA.”
The package looks like a nonstarter in the Senate, thanks to the ACA measures; in fact, according to the Times, the Senate is working on its own health care proposal The package draws on cost control recommendations solicited from doctors and patients and focuses less on expansion of coverage.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
