House Democrats pushed through legislation Thursday to lower prescription drug prices, strengthen the Affordable Care Act and — most significantly — position themselves as the party on the side of health-care consumers as the 2020 election approaches.
The 234-to-183 vote, with every Democrat and five Republicans casting ballots in favor, gave a partisan hue even to three strategies to boost the availability of generic drugs that initially attracted GOP support. Those were merged, however, with measures that would block several Trump administration policies that Democrats characterize as “sabotaging” the ACA.
The upshot was a barbed debate: Democrats accused Republicans of disregarding consumers’ need for affordable, quality health care, and Republicans accused Democrats of thwarting a rare opportunity for bipartisanship.
