18 Dems join House GOP on bill to change law's definition of full time

The legislation is bolstered by Republican charges that employers are cutting part-time workers' hours so that they don't have to provide insurance to those workers.

The Associated Press: House GOP Moves Against Health Care Law
House Republicans renewed their election-year assault on President Barack Obama's health care law Thursday, their opposition undimmed just days after Obama celebrated news that more than 7 million Americans had signed up for coverage under the law. The GOP-led chamber voted 248-179 to change the law's definition of full-time work from 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week. The result would be that fewer workers would get employer-sponsored health coverage and hundreds of thousands more people would be uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office (Werner, 4/3).

The Washington Post: House Votes To Change Health-Care Law's Definition Of Full-Time Work
Eighteen House Democrats voted with Republicans Thursday to change the definition of full-time work as it relates to the Affordable Care Act, signaling that for some members of President Obama's party the law remains a difficult political issue. The bill approved Thursday would change the law's definition of full-time work from 30 hours a week back to 40 hours, a move that Republicans say is necessary as employers continue limiting the hours of part-time workers in anticipation of the law's employer insurance requirement (O'Keefe, 4/3).

The Wall Street Journal: Health-Law Tweak Redefining Full-Time Worker Gains Bipartisan Traction
An effort to change the 2010 health-care law's definition of a full-time worker to ease its requirements on businesses has gained bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, as the Republican House on Thursday passed a bill to make the change with the help of 18 Democrats. The idea has popped up in several places in recent days. In the Senate, a similar measure has attracted two Democratic co-sponsors and has been floated as part of a potentially bipartisan package to raise the minimum wage. Republicans are pushing the issue hard, and sought to attach it as an amendment to unemployment-insurance legislation on Thursday (Peterson, 4/3).

In other Capitol Hill legislative news -

CQ HealthBeat: Divisions In Mental Health Policy Apparent At Hearing On Murphy Bill
Lawmakers expressed bipartisan interest Thursday in finding common ground on mental health policy, but the fracture lines that could complicate the effort were on full display at a House subcommittee hearing on wide-reaching legislation sponsored by Pennsylvania Republican Tim Murphy. Murphy introduced the bill (HR 3717) in December after holding hearings on mental health issues as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee (Attias, 4/3).