EDITORIAL: Talk of bipartisan compromise in DC good to hear

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (WA)

Oct. 18--Bipartisanship was sighted in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. And that could be a positive thing for the nation.

On Tuesday, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., reached a bipartisan deal aimed at stabilizing health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare) for a year or two.

When President Donald Trump recently used an executive order to cut Obamacare insurance subsidies, he made it clear it was now up to Congress to find a solution to concerns.

The New York Times reported the Murray-Alexander deal would allow subsidies, which would lower out-of-pocket costs for low-income consumers, to be funded for up to two years. This is expected to provide some short-term certainty for insurance companies issuing the policies.

Trump originally said he favored the deal, saying the proposal would "get us over this intermediate hump" and allow Republicans to later revisit the ACA. But several hours later he was noticeably cooler to the idea, according to The Washington Post, saying, "I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies." He was tweeting against it this morning.

That's politics. Whether this deal ends up falling apart will depend on how things go as it winds through the legislative process.

But having Republicans and Democrats working together -- and actually coming to an agreement (even if it doesn't hold up for long) seems a good step toward fixing problems with Obamacare, which even Democrats concede needs tinkering. Compromise can be a long and difficult process.

The GOP effort to repeal and replace Obamacare isn't likely to gain traction anytime soon. A reason for that seems to be the concept of subsidized insurance is popular with many voters. People don't necessarily embrace every aspect, but they like the concept.

Trump has repeatedly said he is willing to work with Democrats to fix Obamacare if he couldn't find support from his own party. That still seems to be the case despite Trump's lack of support (as of this morning) for this compromise.

The Murray-Alexander deal is a sign the president and Senate -- specifically Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer -- are open to working together to fix problems rather than allow partisan differences to hurt the nation.

Editorials are the opinion of the Union-Bulletin's Editorial Board. The board is composed of Brian Hunt, Rick Eskil, James Blethen and Alasdair Stewart

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