WASHINGTON – Delaware's congressional lawmakers, arguing that hundreds of jobs at a Wilmington health insurer are at risk, want to tweak the Affordable Care Act to exempt certain insurers, but face opposition from the White House and many fellow Democrats.

Under a bill by Rep. John Carney, D-Del., U.S. expatriate health insurance plans like those offered by Cigna would be exempt from the 2010 law. The plans cover people working outside their home country, including foreign employees working in America, Americans working abroad, or, for example, a German working in France, Carney's office said.

Carney had Cigna in mind when he introduced his bill to clarify that the law doesn't apply to U.S. expatriate insurance plans. In February, the company implemented a hiring freeze at its Delaware facility and has warned of potential layoffs if the legislation isn't signed into law, according to Carney's office.

Cigna employs 500 people in Delaware who write, sell, manage and service the plans affected by the legislation.

His bill, which passed the House on Tuesday 268-150, aims to level the playing field between U.S.-based expatriate insurance carriers and their foreign competitors — and keep those jobs from moving overseas.

"I'm a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act," Carney said during a floor speech. "So are a lot of people in my state. But no law is perfect, and in a law as important, as complicated, and as technical as the Affordable Care Act, there were bound to be a few things that needed to be fixed."

Carney's bill was opposed by most House Democrats — 60 voted in favor and 133 voted against — and must still be considered by the Democrat-led Senate. It also faces opposition from the White House.

In its current form, the bill "would reduce consumer protections and create even more loopholes in the tax code," according to a statement of administration policy released before the vote. The statement says the administration is willing to work with Congress to improve the bill "and to maintain basic consumer protections for all workers."

Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, both Delaware Democrats, have pledged to continue working with the Obama administration, stakeholders and their congressional colleagues to pass the bill in the Senate.

"The Affordable Care Act is not written in stone, and we should work together to make common-sense changes to improve and strengthen the law moving forward," Carper said in a statement.

Coons said he and Carper "are determined to find a fair and reasonable solution that saves these jobs."

Several U.S. health insurers, including Cigna, MetLife, Aetna and United Health — offer expatriate insurance plans that compete with foreign insurers, who sell the same types of plans but aren't required to comply with the Affordable Care Act.

"Without a clear and permanent legislative solution, American expatriate insurers will continue to be at a competitive disadvantage against foreign providers in the many ways they serve their customers," Cigna spokesman Jon Sandberg said. "That result would leave companies like ours with no choice but to begin planning to shift the business and jobs supporting the business outside the U.S."

Gov. Jack Markell, who also has been working with Cigna, praised the efforts of the congressional delegation.