纽约时报 特朗普决定废除《平价医疗法案》 民主党人陷入混乱(1)（在线收听）

Move to Nullify healthcare Act Roils Democrats

特朗普决定废除《平价医疗法案》 民主党人陷入混乱

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Robert Pear

文/谢丽尔·盖伊·斯托尔伯格，罗伯特·皮尔

The Trump administration's decision to ask a federal appeals court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act

特朗普政府决定让联邦上诉法院废除《平价医疗法案》，

has given House Democrats a new opening to pursue what they see as a winning political strategy:

众议院民主党人便有了新的机会，采取他们眼中的制胜策略：

moving past talk of impeachment to put kitchen-table issues like health care front and center.

绕过弹劾（总统）的话题，把医疗保健等民生问题放在首要及核心位置。

The notice to the court, filed late Monday by the Justice Department,

司法部周一晚间向最高法院发布了废除《平价医疗法案》的通知，

could not have come at a more opportune time for Democrats.

然而，对民主党人而言，这一通知来得正是时候。

The finding by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel,

因为特别检察官罗伯特·S·穆勒三世调查后发现，

that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia,

没有证据表明特朗普竞选团队和俄罗斯之间有合谋犯罪行为，

dashed the hopes of the most partisan Democrats that the House would impeach the president.

所以，最具党派色彩那些民主党人的希望破灭了——他们一直希望众议院能弹劾特朗普总统。

Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who celebrated her 79th birthday on Tuesday —

司法部发布通知之前，众议院议长南希·佩洛西——周二她刚刚庆祝完自己的79岁生日——

had already planned to move to change the conversation with the unveiling of the Democrats' own health care plan on Tuesday.

就已经打算在周二公布民主党人自己的医保方案，改变两党对话的走向。

The Democrats' bill aims to lower health insurance premiums,

这一法案旨在降低医疗保险费用，

strengthen protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions

加强对已存在伤病人群的保护，

and ban the sale of what Democrats call "junk insurance."

同时禁止他们所谓的“垃圾保险”的销售。

The Justice Department's move gave the unveiling an urgency that not even she could have anticipated.

但司法部的举动让南希·佩洛西的计划变得紧迫得她自己都意想不到了。

"The Republicans did say during the campaign

“共和党人在竞选期间确实说过，

that they weren't there to undermine the pre-existing condition benefit,

他们并非要破坏已存在伤病人群的福利，

and here they are, right now, saying they're going to strip the whole Affordable Care Act as the law of the land,

但他们现在又说，他们要把《平价医疗法案》整个从美国的法律体系中剔除出去，”

Ms. Pelosi told reporters Tuesday,

佩洛西周二对记者说到，

adding, "This is actually an opportunity for us to speak to the American people with clarity."

她还补充说，“这也是我们跟美国人民开诚布公的一个机会。”

The administration staked out its new position in a lawsuit that was filed by Republican attorneys general in Texas and other states

2017年，国会未能成功废除《平价医疗法案》，德克萨斯等州的共和党司法部长们提起诉讼时，

after Congress failed in 2017 to repeal the Affordable Care Act,

特朗普政府表明自己有了新的立场，

but later reduced the law's tax penalty for people who do not have insurance to zero.

后来却还是将对没有保险的人的税收罚款降至为零了。

The suit contended that the absence of the real tax penalty rendered the law's "individual mandate"

该诉讼裁定，没有了实际的税收罚款，该法律的“个人强制参保”规定——

— the requirement that most Americans have insurance — unconstitutional.

——该规定要求大多数美国人都要有保险——就违宪了。

Without a requirement to purchase insurance, they argued,

他们辩称，如果没有购买保险的要求，

the law could not then insist that insurance companies cover pre-existing medical conditions

这一法律便不能坚持要求保险公司承保已存在伤病人群的保险费用，

and a suite of other "essential health benefits," such as maternity care and prescription drugs.

和产科护理及处方药等一系列其他“基本健康福利”的费用。