Republicanscried foul over the inclusion of the ACA measures in the package,since there was bipartisan support for the bills aimed at bringingdown drug prices. (Photo: Shutterstock)

With Republicans mostly voting no, the Democratic-controlledHouse passed a group of health care bills that are aimed not onlyat lowering the cost of prescription medications but alsosupporting the Affordable Care Act.

The package passed with a vote of 234 to 183, the New York Times reported. Just five Republicansvoted with Democrats because it contained measures designed toprotect people with pre-existing conditions—something Republicanshave said they support, but continue to vote against—by reining inthe sale of short-term health plans that aren't required tosell to people who already have health problems, nor to provide theessential health benefits mandated under the ACA, such as maternitybenefits and prescription drug coverage.

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The package also seeks to boost funding for ACA navigator groups to help people sign up forcoverage under the ACA.

The drug pricing bills would ban “pay for delay” deals in whichgeneric drug manufacturers are paid by brand-name companies tostall on bringing lower-priced generics to market; they would alsorelax the rules on the exclusive six-month sales period thatgeneric drug makers get when they're the first to bring a genericto market after a brand-name medication goes off patent.

The Hill reports that Republicans cried foul over theinclusion of the ACA measures in the package, since there wasbipartisan support for the bills aimed at bringing down drugprices—in fact, they passed unanimously out of the Energy andCommerce Committee—but to vote for them was to appear to supportthe ACA, something Republicans are determined not to do.

While House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, describedthe ACA measures as “partisan poison pills,” House Majority LeaderSteny Hoyer, D-MD, said that bundling the bills into a package wasnecessary to protect the ACA.

“I think, frankly, we have packaged these bills because we thinkthey are all part and parcel of what we pledged to the Americanpeople,” Hoyer said. ”That is, bringing down prices andmaking health care available at a level that they need to protectthemselves and their families. I regret that the administrationcontinues to try to undermine the ACA.”

The package looks like a nonstarter in the Senate, thanks to theACA measures; in fact, according to the Times, the Senate isworking on its own health care proposal The package drawson cost control recommendations solicited from doctors andpatients and focuses less on expansion of coverage.

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