Congress Has Ambitious Agenda Tackling Health Care Costs

WASHINGTON (AP) – Lawmakers returning from their Fourth of July recess are trying to set aside their differences over the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and working toward a bipartisan agreement on a more immediate health care issue – lowering costs for people who have coverage. The Senate and House are moving to end surprise medical bills, curb high prices for medicines and limit prescription copays for people with Medicare. Democrats and Republicans say they’re trying to work together. Partisan disagreements could derail the effort, but lawmakers fear the voters’ verdict in 2020 if politicians have nothing to show for their hand-wringing about drug prices. The big cuts that President Donald Trump promised haven’t materialized.