the house passed legislation on friday that allows insurance companies to offer health plans that were cancelled for not meeting new requirements under obamacare .
text size - + reset top lines from obama has said he would veto the bill .
but both efforts , as well as another crafted by democrats in the senate , are aimed at addressing the same issue : the political backlash over letters received by millions of americans whose private health insurance washington — defying a veto threat from president obama , the house approved legislation on friday that would allow insurance companies to renew individual health insurance policies and sell similar ones to new customers next year even if the coverage does not provide all the benefits and consumer protections required by the new health care law .
the president described the meeting as a “ brainstorming ” session about how thirty - nine house democrats on friday broke ranks to support a republican bill that would allow health insurers to continue selling plans canceled under obamacare through 2014 , the first test of support on capitol hill since the law ’s disastrous rollout .
hours after the vote , mr. obama and top aides met for over an hour with insurance executives after industry leaders complained thursday that they had been blindsided by a white house reversal on canceled policies .
thirty - nine democrats broke with their party 's leaders and backed the bill despite a veto threat by the white house , highlighting the political problem the issue has come for president obama ’s party .
the house voted , 261 - 157 , to pass the bill by rep. fred upton ( r - mich . )
the vote is a further blow to obama , four republicans voted no on the bill .
it ’s a significant show of disloyalty to the white house , but house democrats had expected the defections to be far higher before the obama administration said thursday that it would pursue an administrative fix to the cancellation problem .