Democrats turn attention to healthcare

WASHINGTON—House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a new plan to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA), pushing back against the Trump administration’s drive to get courts to strike down President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at a news conference that the Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act would lower health insurance premiums, strengthen protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions, and reinstate the ACA advertising and outreach budget. It would also prevent the White House from issuing waivers to states that want more flexibility in how they provide coverage.

On Monday, the Justice Department sided with a federal judge’s ruling that the ACA is unconstitutional and should be overturned. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor previously ruled that Congress removed the constitutional basis for the law when it repealed the individual health coverage mandate in 2017. The law remains in effect while the ruling is under appeal.

In a closed-door lunch at the Capitol on Tuesday, President Donald Trump told Republicans he wanted to focus on healthcare over the next two years, including trying to repeal and replace Obamacare. GOP senators afterward said the president emphasized the importance of protecting coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. “The Republican Party will soon become the party of healthcare,” Trump told reporters.