51��Ƶ

The Democratic-controlled House has voted to prevent the Trump administration from easing health care coverage rules required by President Barack Obama's health care law. Under guidance the administration issued last year, states might allow insurers to offer low-cost, low-coverage policies that could deny coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Democrats say that by blocking that language, Thursday's bill would protect patients with pre-existing conditions. (Fram, 5/9)

In October, the administration released a guidance to give states more flexibility by exempting them from some of the waiver requirements. The administration later suggested ways states could change their insurance markets, including revising the rules for consumers to qualify for premium subsidies, allowing those subsidies to go toward plans that don’t comply with all of the 2010 law’s regulations or setting up high-risk pools or reinsurance programs to help cover the most expensive patients. (McIntire, 5/9)

Next week, the House will vote on a package of seven health-care bills, several of which would reverse administration actions that Democrats have described as efforts to sabotage former president Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement. The votes come as President Trump recently renewed his vow to repeal the 2010 law and directed the Justice Department to intervene in a lawsuit aimed at invalidating the law entirely — including its popular protections for Americans with preexisting medical conditions. (DeBonis, 5/9)

Other measures include a restoration of funding used to help consumers find and sign up for coverage under the health law, new disclosure requirements for prescription drug rebate programs, several measures intended to reduce drug costs and increase access to advanced medications known as biologics, and the allocation of $10 billion per year in new “reinsurance” payments that would help lower health care premiums by offsetting the costs of the most expensive insurance claims. Taken in total, the package is intended to build on the system established by the health law without disrupting the health care system for Americans who get coverage through work or a government program. (Thrush, 5/9)

“This legislation should not be necessary, but unfortunately the Trump Administration continues to take actions that undermine the health care of millions of Americans, including the more than 133 million people with pre-existing conditions,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.). (Sullivan, 5/9)

Scrap "Obamacare"? Well, maybe not all of it. The Trump administration is arguing in court that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down as unconstitutional. But at the same time, Justice Department lawyers recently suggested that federal judges could salvage its anti-fraud provisions, raising questions about keeping other parts as well. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 5/10)

While much of the stock market sprints ahead powered by economic gains and investor confidence, the health care sector is limping behind. Drugmakers and health insurers have been on the defensive most of the year as politicians criticize the high cost of prescription drugs and medical care. The issue is acting like an anchor for their share prices, especially heading into an election cycle where health care costs will be a key topic. (Troise, 5/9)

A new report finds that improved profitability for insurers selling Affordable Care Act coverage to individuals last year means health plans could be issuing a record $800 million in rebates to consumers — a national finding that fits with the financial results in Minnesota. The study from the California-based Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that insurers overshot when setting premiums for 2018 because of uncertainty over the future of the federal health law, given moves at the time by the Trump administration. (Snowbeck, 5/9)