As Democrats Defect Over Obamacare, Party Leaders Downplay Setbacks

Fiddle while...

Democratic lawmakers downplayed the support some members of their party gave to a Republican bill that would let insurers sell for another year health policies that don't meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, speaking yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press," said the 39 House Democrats who supported the Nov. 15 measure were basically those who had already opposed an insurance mandate for individuals and businesses.

"Democrats stand tall in support of the Affordable Care Act," Pelosi said. "The rollout of the website, that's terrible. But the fact is that will be fixed."

Almost a fifth of House Democrats joined Republicans last week to pass legislation revising the health-care law. The legislation puts pressure on the Senate to advance proposals to fix technical problems with its insurance exchange and cancellation notices sent to hundreds of thousands of policyholders.