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A Rare Capitol Hill Sighting: 2 Parties Work Together On Health Care

By Mary Agnes Carey

Panel members from both parties agreed 鈥 yes, you read that right, agreed 鈥 on bills dealing with clinical laboratories, recovering payments for the Medicare Trust Fund and pediatric research,聽among others.

”The bills before us prove that it is indeed possible to work together for the good of the American people,” said Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich. Subcommittee chairman Joe Pitts, R-Pa., praised the collaboration of committee members Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat, and Leonard Lance, a New Jersey Republican, on a measure to help the National Cancer Institute’s efforts to聽improve prevention, diagnosis聽and treatment of cancers with high mortality rates,聽such as pancreatic cancer.

Predictably, the聽harmony stopped聽when it came to repealing a provision of the 2010 聽health law. Legislation to exclude brokers and agents fees from the calculation of the law’s , a of premium dollars on health benefits, fell flat with聽Democrats.

A on the committee’s website says that keeping those fees out of the mix “could force agents to leave the market or significantly limit their plan offerings, creating a level of disruption that would quickly destabilize the market and threaten the ability of insurers to continue offering plans.”

Democrats . They say the medical loss ratio has saved consumers more than $2 billion on their health insurance premiums since the health law was enacted and that any changes would reduce those premium rebates. The administration made a Tuesday.

Even as they disagreed with Republicans,聽 Democrats still tried to say something nice.聽“I am pleased that my Republican colleagues finally have given up their endless efforts to repeal every provision in the Affordable Care Act and are engaging in a substantive discussion of its provisions,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.聽 “That’s a step in the right direction.” Dingell added that he was “happy to see that my Republican friends are no longer trying to take apart the Affordable Care Act.”

The GOP-controlled House has聽 to repeal all or sections of the health law or to defund its implementation. The subcommittee approved all six bills聽before it Tuesday on voice vote.

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