纽约时报 民主党人警告称 医改法案将引发"5级火警"(1)

Democrats² warn of '5-alarm fire' over health law;

民主党人警告称，医改法案将引发“5级火警”;

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Robert Pear and Abby Goodnough

文/谢乐尔·盖伊·斯托尔伯格、罗伯特·佩尔和艾比·古德诺

The decision by a federal judge in Texas to strike down all of the Affordable³ Care Act has thrust the volatile⁴ debate over health care onto center stage in a newly divided capital,

德克萨斯州某联邦法官决定废除《平价医疗法案》的全部内容，这一决定迅速将围绕医疗保险的激烈辩论推到了原本就充满分裂矛盾的新政府的舞台中央，

imperiling the insurance coverage⁵ of millions of Americans while delivering a possible policy opening to Democrats.

不仅危及到了数百万美国人的保险覆盖范围，还可能让民主党在政策上占了先机。

After campaigning vigorously on a pledge to protect patients with pre-existing medical conditions —

在展开激烈的竞选活动，承诺保护投保前已患疾病的患者们后——

a promise that helped return them to the House majority they had lost in 2010 —

这一承诺帮助他们重新夺回了2010年失去的众议院多数席位——

Democrats vowed⁶ to move swiftly to defend the law and to safeguard its protections.

民主党人发誓会迅速行动起来捍卫这项法律，维护其原本保障的保险范围。

On the defensive⁷, Republicans campaigning this fall promised that they too backed the health law’s protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

作为防守方，共和党人在今秋参加竞选活动时承诺，他们也会支持医改法案对投保前已患疾病的患者的保护，

But the Texas ruling illustrated⁸ the fruits — and possible perils⁹ — of their long-running campaign, stepped up in the Trump¹⁰ era,

然而，德克萨斯州的裁决表明了他们漫长的竞选带来的成果——以及可能的风险， 竞选过程是在特朗普时代拉长的，

to remake the judiciary through the confirmation¹¹ of dozens of conservative judges, including two appointees to the Supreme¹² Court.

为的是通过任命数十名保守派法官重塑司法体系，这些人中还包括两名被任命为最高法院法官的官员。

The ruling, if it stands, would not only do away with coverage protections for people with pre-existing health conditions

如果成立，这项裁决将不仅削弱已患疾病的患者的保险的保护范围，

but also strike down the guarantee of coverage for what the law deems "essential health benefits."

还会撤销法律规定的“基本健康福利”的保障范围。

These include emergency services, maternity¹³ and newborn care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, prescription¹⁴ drugs and pediatric care.

这些保障包括紧急服务、妇幼保健、精神卫生和药物滥用治疗、处方药和儿科保健。

But it is so sweeping¹⁵ that many legal analysts¹⁶ believe it is likely to be overturned.

但由于这些保障囊括的内容其实非常多，所以许多法律分析人士认为，这些保障结果可能会整个被推翻。

The Supreme Court, in a 5-to-4 decision, has already upheld the Affordable Care Act’s legality.

最高法院，以5:4的投票结果，判决《平价医疗法案》的合法性继续有效。

The political reaction to the Texas decision, though, is not likely to diminish anytime soon.

不过，德克萨斯州的决定所引起的政治反应不太可能在短期内平息。

"This is a five-alarm fire," said Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat¹ of Connecticut.

“这是一场五级火警，”康涅狄格州民主党参议员克里斯托弗·s. 墨菲说到。

"Republicans just blew up our health care system."

“共和党人刚刚摧毁了我们的医疗体系。”

Top Republicans were by and large muted in their response,

共和党高层的反应大体上都是沉默，

but Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the incoming House minority leader, appealed to Democrats to come to negotiate a successor to what he called "an unconstitutional law."

但加利福尼亚州众议员，即将上任的众议院少数党领袖凯文·麦卡锡呼吁民主党人前来谈判，为他所说的“违宪法律”协商替代方案。

"President Trump has made clear he wants a solution,

“特朗普总统已经明确表示他想要一个解决方案，

and I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle¹⁷ to make sure America’s health care system works for all Americans," he said in a statement Saturday.

我愿一心与两党同事共同努力，确保美国的医疗保健系统能够为所有美国人服务。”他在周六的声明中说到。

The Democrats’ first step will be in the courts;

民主党的第一个动作将发生在法庭上；

aides to Representative Nancy Pelosi, the top House Democrat, said Saturday

众议院民主党领袖南希·佩洛西的助手们周六表示，

that House Democrats would move quickly to notify the Trump administration that they intended to intervene in the case.

众议院民主党人将迅速行动，通知特朗普政府他们打算介入此案。

A vote on a resolution to do so is expected in the earliest days of the new Congress.

预计新一届国会组成之初，议员们就将对相关决议进行投票。

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

8 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

9 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

14 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

15 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。