Sen. Patty Murray is working with Republicans on Obamacare fix
"A message to
Now, after months of lobbing salvos at Trump, Murray has pivoted back to deal-making mode as she works with Republican colleagues on a long-shot effort to stabilize premiums in the individual markets where about 18 million Americans buy their health insurance.
It's a small bite out of the big problems surrounding health care in
Murray's dance partner this go-round is Sen.
She and Alexander, who chairs the
During hearings last week, Alexander cited his work with Murray on No Child as evidence of the committee's ability to find solutions to even the most thorny and controversial topics.
Despite the long odds, he was confident, he said, that they could find a solution before
Thursday, Alexander burnished Murray's reputation as a dealmaker, telling those assembled in the committee chamber, "People know the high respect I have for
Murray, the committee's ranking Democrat, thanked her colleague and vowed to work toward a bipartisan agreement but then criticized Trump for "sabotaging" the program by creating uncertainty around federal funding.
Trump has threatened to stop making payments that reimburse Obamacare insurers for offering lower cost-sharing options to low-income consumers. Without the federal subsidies, premiums for the individual market could rise as much as 20 percent, experts say.
The deal Murray and Alexander are working out would take the president out of the payment loop. Instead, the payments would be authorized by
Guaranteed reimbursement to the insurers would bring a measure of predictability to the insurance markets, helping to stave off large premium increases, proponents say.
But
Both sides seem to agree that the only sustainable fix is a bipartisan one, especially since a majority of the public supports Obamacare.
During last week's hearings, the outlines of an agreement were visible as witnesses chosen by both sides talked about the need to continue federal subsidies for low-income consumers, and provide states with more flexibility to manage President
Binder said bipartisan deals these days have less to do with compromise or finding common ground than allowing each side to come away with something valuable.
"We have this notion in our head that a deal is just made because there's some ideological sweet spot,'' said Binder, a fellow at the
The agreements Murray has negotiated, Binder said, "enlarge the pie. Both sides get their most preferred outcome. They have to want it so bad that they're willing to give the other side what they want."
In this case, Alexander, who favored repealing Obamacare, wants flexibility for states and a one-year extension on subsidies. Murray wants the payments extended for several years while allowing states more flexibility by improving an existing provision in Obamacare that allows for that.
Those types of deals, Binder said, require trust.
"Both Alexander and Murray know each other very well," she said. "They've dealt with each other, and that's something unusual. It's less usual in today's
The specter of failure also favors a deal, she said.
"
In an interview before the hearings, Murray said both sides agree: "We have to bring stability to the market." The uncertainty surrounding the payments, she said, is already driving higher costs to consumers.
Health insurance works by spreading the anticipated costs of care over a group of people. The larger and healthier the group, the lower the premiums tend to be. If only sick people sign up for the program, premiums are more expensive.
While
"It's going to be hard,'' she said, but noted that for some
Murray earned a reputation for working across the aisle when she and Ryan, now House speaker, negotiated the 2013 budget deal that headed off a government shutdown.
That deal was possible because it relied on "nonpartisan fact-finding," familiarity among the players, their staffs and aides, mutual fear of failing, and enough space for negotiations to take place in private, according to research by the
Talking about the deal at a
When she was working with Alexander to replace No Child Left Behind with the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015,
"I knew we would disagree on a lot of policy," Murray said after the compromise was approved, "but we agreed the law was broken. We had many times when we looked at each other and said, 'We can't do this.' And then one would say, 'No, we have to do this,' and we would go back to work in our offices."
She said the current negotiations have parallels to the budget agreement she forged with Ryan.
"I hope we can focus on areas of common ground rather than getting bogged down in ideology again that drove that Trumpcare debate. And if we can do this, I believe a bipartisan agreement on health-care reform is possible. Not easy, but possible."
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