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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — Congressional lawmakers said on Friday that the collapse of Republican efforts to demolish the Affordable Care Act had created an opening for bipartisan work to shore up health insurance markets and protect consumers against sharp increases in premiums. But any such effort would have to overcome the firm resistance of President Trump and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill who have refused to participate in any effort to fortify President Barack Obama’s health law. The professions of a desire for bipartisan cooperation were as profuse on Friday as the short-term outlook for tangible results was grim. “On health care, I hope we can work together to make the system better in a bipartisan way,” said the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, who led efforts to preserve the Affordable Care Act. “And I’m optimistic that that can happen,” he added, saying that he recognized flaws in the law. The Republicans’ seven-year promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act seemed to come to an end in the early hours of Friday when 51 senators — including three Republicans — blocked a narrow version of repeal that would have rolled back only a few provisions of the sweeping health care law. Without a Republican majority to approve either a comprehensive replacement for the health law or a repeal-only bill, Republican leaders had fallen back on what they called the lowest common denominator. And that failed, too. Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, w... Link to the full article to read more