Senators seek bipartisan deal to shore up insurance markets

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are launching hearings to help Republicans and Democrats decide if they can forge a modest agreement to shore up the nation's individual insurance markets. The effort will show whether divided Republicans are ready to pivot from trying to obliterate the Obama health care law to helping it survive, and if both parties can overcome lingering raw feelings over that battle.

The Senate health committee was holding the first of four scheduled hearings Wednesday, with testimony planned from five states' insurance commissioners. The session comes with analysts expecting 2018 premium increases to match or exceed the average 25 percent boosts on midlevel plans sold this year on the government's Healthcare.