A pair of Senators have reached a deal "in principle" that could undo Donald Trump's executive order to halt payments that subsidize health care, and temporarily protect Obamacare.

Courtesy of ABC News:

Less than a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt government payments that subsidize insurance plans for low-income Americans, Senate leaders agreed "in principle" to a bill that would cover the payments for two years.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee announced Tuesday that he reached an agreement with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the committee's ranking member. The senators each made brief presentations on the deal at lunches with their respective parties. 

According to one source with knowledge of the bill, the agreement contains $160 million to restore outreach and enrollment funding for the Affordable Care Act. 

Trump commented on the prospect of a deal on the payments during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Tuesday afternoon, claiming that the White House has been involved in negotiations, but called it a "short-term solution." 

"It will get us over this intermediate hump," said Trump, who continued by claiming that Republicans "have" or "are very close to having" the votes to eventually pass their long-held goal of a comprehensive reform bill.

I actually think that last part is becoming less true everyday as the American people become more and more concerned at what will happen if the Republicans actually succeed in repealing Obamacare.

And speaking of Obamacare it seems a little odd to hear that the White House has been involved in this deal. Especially considering what Trump said just the other day.

President Trump: “Obamacare is finished. It's dead. It’s gone …. There is no such thing as Obamacare any more” https://t.co/CLbWiYUkSp

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 16, 2017

Well apparently there IS still such a thing as Obamacare, and it appears that the Republicans are becoming more and more afraid of touching it.

Female Senators introduce bill to protect women's access to health care. Does anybody else's calendar still say 2015?

Courtesy of Think Progress: 

On Thursday, a trio of female senators announced the introduction of an ambitious piece of pro-choice legislation to safeguard access to women’s health services as some members of Congress attempt to turn back the clock. 

The new “21st Century Women’s Health Act” — sponsored by Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) — seeks to build on the recent progress under the Affordable Care Act by ensuring that all women have the maternity coverage, family planning services, and rape crisis tools they need. The legislation is endorsed by Planned Parenthood. 

On a press call with reporters, Murray said that women are at a “critical moment” when it comes to their reproductive health. On one hand, Obamacare has taken some important steps forward to make gender-based services more affordable across the country. But on the other hand, relentless legislative attacks on both the state and federal levels have compromised women’s right to make decisions about their own health care. 

“We absolutely can’t get complacent about the gains we’ve made so far,” the Washington lawmaker said. “As we continue to fight back against those who miss the Mad Men era, the 21st Century Women’s Health Act lays out important ways we can and should move forward on women’s health.”

This may seem superfluous in this day and age, but sadly such is not the case: 

An unprecedented wave of state-level abortion restrictions swept the country over the past three years. In 2013 alone, 22 states enacted 70 antiabortion measures, including previability abortion bans, unwarranted doctor and clinic regulations, limits on the provision of medication abortion and bans on insurance coverage of abortion. However, 2013 was not even the year with the greatest number of new state-level abortion restrictions, as 2011 saw 92 enacted; 43 abortion restrictions were enacted by states in 2012.

And that does not even take into account the number of restrictions passed in 2014.

Can you believe it? More than 40 years since the passage of Roe vs Wade and women are still fighting for control over their reproductive systems and for access to vital health care services.

As a nation we should be ashamed.