Houses Passes ACA Defender Bill

House members passed several amendments by voice vote during debate on the House floor, and they held recorded votes on three proposed amendments.

One amendment proposed by the Democrats, to declare Trump administration efforts to support short-term health insurance an attack on ACA rules, passed 231-185, with all participating Democrats voting for the amendment, and just one Republican voting for the measure.

Another amendment , proposed by Republicans who wanted to cut out some of the ACA public exchange program funding provisions in H.R. 987, lost by a  189-230 vote, with two Democrats siding with the Republicans, and two Republicans siding with the Democrats.

The amendment with the most bipartisan support would provide opioid-specific education and training for ACA public exchange navigators and certified application counselors. That amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., passed by a 243-174 vote. Twelve Republicans crossed party lines to support that proposal.

Resources

Information about H.R. 987 floor debate is available here.

— Read House OKs Curb on Trump Administration ACA Waiver Program, on ThinkAdvisor.

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