On The Docket For Lawmakers Post Fourth Of July: Surprise Medical Bills And High Drug Prices

As Congress returns from recess, health care issues are on the summer agenda. "Obviously we will continue to have significant disagreements on ... Obamacare," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). "What we've done is shift our focus to the larger topic — or the different topic — of reducing health care costs."

The Associated Press: Congress Has Ambitious Agenda Tackling Health Care Costs

Lawmakers are trying to set aside their irreconcilable differences over the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and work to reach bipartisan agreement on a more immediate health care issue, lowering costs for people who already have coverage. Returning from their Fourth of July recess, the Senate and House are pushing to end surprise medical bills, curb high prices for medicines, and limit prescription copays for people with Medicare. Partisan disagreements could derail the effort, but lawmakers fear the voters' verdict in 2020 if politicians have nothing to show for all their hand-wringing about drug prices. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/7)

Meanwhile, in other news from Capitol Hill —

The Washington Post: House Freshmen Balance National Crises, Issues Back Home

Iowa Rep. Abby Finkenauer spent her time back home meeting with small-business owners and veterans, marching in a parade and delivering gifts to fire stations. In their upstate New York districts, Rep. Antonio Delgado visited farms, including one that’s part of a pilot program for hiring veterans, and Rep. Andy Brindisi kicked off a summer lunch program for kids. As the class of freshmen House lawmakers returned to their states for the Independence Day break, six months into their first terms, many were determined to push beyond President Donald Trump’s latest pronouncements from the White House — over the border crisis or the impeachment calls against him — to focus on local issues they say matter in their districts. (Mascaro and Robinson, 7/6)

CNN: Ocasio-Cortez Hits Back At Pelosi For Knocking Far-Left Lawmakers Who Voted Against Border Bill

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Nancy Pelosi after the House Speaker criticized her and three other far-left Democrats in Congress for voting against a Senate measure on border funding that President Donald Trump recently signed into law. Ocasio-Cortez argued that Democrats cannot trust the Trump administration not to divert money for humanitarian aid toward immigration enforcement -- a comment that comes after the President acknowledged that ICE raids would begin after the Fourth of July. (Ehrlich, 7/7)

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