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Congress is at a crossroads after Republicans stumbled again in their drive to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law. The choice is between more partisan conflict or a shift toward cooperation. Bipartisan talks on a bill to stabilize the health law's shaky insurance markets are resuming. But time is short and there's no guarantee of success. Open enrollment starts Nov. 1. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/27)

Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) left the door open Tuesday to restarting bipartisan talks on an ObamaCare stabilization bill. "I’m still concerned about the next two years and Congress has an opportunity to slow down premium increases in 2018, begin to lower them in 2019, and do our best to make sure there are no counties where people have zero options to buy health insurance," Alexander said in a statement late Tuesday afternoon. (Hellmann, 9/26)

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., on Tuesday said he would resume negotiations with ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., on a bill that would fund cost-sharing subsidies currently in limbo under the Trump administration. “I’m still concerned about the next two years and Congress has an opportunity to slow down premium increases in 2018, begin to lower them in 2019, and do our best to make sure there are no counties where people have zero options to buy health insurance,” Alexander said in a statement. (Clason, 9/27)

Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who chairs a key committee, said he will consult with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and other Republicans and Democrats “to see if senators can find consensus on a limited bipartisan plan that could be enacted into law to help lower premiums and make insurance available to the 18 million Americans in the individual market in 2018 and 2019.” (Collins and Fletcher, 9/26)

He’s got some conditions, though. Alexander said Tuesday he only wants to resume work if the more limited plan, which could include funding for health insurers and more flexibility for states, can be enacted into law. President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan have previously indicated they won’t support such a plan. Alexander was working on a bipartisan package until the now-failed repeal bill offered by Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy gained steam. (Edney, 9/26)

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is floating potentially tying a bipartisan deal on stabilizing the health insurance market to structural reforms favored by Republicans, after the latest bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare fell apart. "Sen. [Lamar] Alexander [R-Tenn.] and Sen. [Patty] Murray [D-Wash] are working on some ideas on stabilizing the market, but more importantly, to me, Sen. [Bill] Cassidy [R-La.] and Sen. [Lindsey] Graham [R-S.C.] are looking at structural reform," the No. 2 Senate Republican told reporters Tuesday. (Carney, 9/26)

Now that the latest GOP health care proposal is being left for dead, you might think that health care reform efforts are over for the near future. But don't dismiss bipartisan efforts already underway that aim to stabilize the insurance market and potentially give states more flexibility in meeting federal standards. (Fulton, 9/27)