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Democrats, claiming a mandate from voters, opened a legislative campaign on Wednesday to secure protections under the Affordable Care Act for people with pre-existing medical conditions, putting aside divisions over a more ambitious push for “Medicare for all” in favor of shoring up existing law.“ Health care was the single most important issue to voters in the 2018 election,” said Representative Anna G. Eshoo, Democrat of California, as she convened a hearing on a decision by a federal district judge in Texas that would invalidate the entire law. (Pear, 2/6)

Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday announced that they will hold a hearing next week to consider legislation to overturn conservative actions President Trump has taken on the Affordable Care Act. The panel will consider bills to overturn Trump’s expansion of cheaper, skimpier insurance plans that Democrats deride as “junk plans,” and to restore funding for outreach efforts to enroll people in ObamaCare plans, funding that was slashed by the Trump administration. (Sullivan, 2/6)

The legislation announced in a key House health panel hearing on Wednesday targets the Trump administration policies that affect the law. The bills aren't likely to go anywhere this Congress with the Senate and White House still in Republican control, but lawmakers once again highlighted the divide in the Democratic and GOP approach to the law, particularly around how states should administer their exchanges. The hearings came one day after the president in his State of the Union address called for legislation to bring down drug prices and improve transparency across the healthcare industry. It remains unclear whether the two parties will strike a deal with one another and with the administration on substantive drug pricing proposals—a stated priority from all sides. (Luthi, 2/6)

Rep. Rosa DeLauro has wasted no time using her new clout to tackle something she considers an outrage – the Trump administration’s impact on the Affordable Care Act. The Democratic takeover of the U.S. House has promoted DeLauro to the chairmanship of a House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services. (Radelat, 2/6)