By REUTERS
SEPT. 28, 2017, 3:06
P.M. E.D.T.
WASHINGTON — Two U.S.
senators from both parties are close to finalizing a bipartisan deal to shore
up the health insurance exchanges created under Obamacare, the chamber's top
Democrat said on Thursday.
The move, which Senate
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said was "on the verge" of
completion, would stabilize the market for individuals who buy their own
insurance plans on the federal or state-based exchanges.
The potential
agreement comes after Republicans have repeatedly failed to carry out their
years-long pledge to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Act, former
Democratic President Barack Obama's signature healthcare overhaul.
Schumer said Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, a
Republican, and ranking Democrat Patty Murray had resurrected a bipartisan
approach, which had been cast aside amid the latest near-vote on a repeal bill.
Alexander and Murray
had been working to protect the government payments made to insurers to help
reduce medical expenses for low-income Americans enrolled in Obamacare.
Alexander also wanted states to have more flexibility to design insurance plans
under the program.
"They both inform
me that they're on the verge of an agreement, a bipartisan healthcare agreement
to stabilize markets and lower premiums," Schumer said on the Senate floor
on Thursday.
The pact could buoy
health insurance companies, which came out forcefully against the Republican
repeal effort and have faced uncertainty since the November election of
Republican President Donald Trump, who vowed to sink the law.
While the majority of insured
Americans receive coverage through their employers or government programs such
as Medicare and Medicaid, more than 10 million people have individual plans
through the online exchanges, and about 11 million are expected to sign up next
year.
Most of these
consumers receive income-based tax credits and subsidies to reduce costs.
Insurers have filed their premium rates for 2018, many of which are expected to
rise at least 20 percent because of uncertainty that the government will
continue paying some of those subsidies.
Despite those worries,
insurers on Wednesday signed contracts with the government that will result in
every U.S. county having at least one company selling Obamacare plans.
Trump has signaled
that his administration would take other action to unwind the law, and on
Wednesday said he would sign an order next week allowing people to buy
insurance coverage across U.S. state lines.
Republican Senator
Rand Paul, who has been pushing for the move, says Trump can do this by
legalizing nationwide health associations that individuals could then join.
(Reporting by Susan
Heavey; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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