Sen. Bill Cassidy insisted Wednesday that his amendment to a healthcare reform bill would protect people will pre-existing conditions, after a famous TV talk show host said it wouldn’t.
Cassidy was pressed on the issue after “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host Jimmy Kimmel said Cassidy was “not very honest” about whether his bill would protect people like his son, who was born with congenital heart disease.
But Cassidy said his amendment would “protect those with pre-existing conditions.” He’s proposing a plan to use Obamacare’s funding for Medicaid expansion and subsidies for block grants to states.
“There’ll be billions of dollars for coverage for working families in states like Maine, Virginia, Missouri, Florida and elsewhere, states that have been bypassed by Obamacare,” he said on MSNBC.
“So any child born with a congenital heart disease would get everything he or she needs?” host Mika Brzezinski asked.
“Absolutely,” Cassidy said.
He also said it’s not true that states would be allowed to offer unaffordable plans that are out of reason for many people.
“That’s actually not true, because under our bill … the coverage has to be ‘adequate and affordable,'” he said.
When asked who would determine what is “adequate and affordable,” he said that decision would be made by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
“We think that if you say ‘adequate and affordable,’ a reasonable person would say it’s got to be about the same price,” he said.
“It has to be approved by the secretary of HHS,” Cassidy added. “This is not left up to the insurance company.”
He also said most people who argue the bill would allow companies to dramatically raise premiums are simply defending Obamacare from any change.
“It’s possible that someone has a different definition of affordable,” he said. “But typically those people who have different definitions are trying to protect Obamacare, think it’s the only way to be, and therefore they attempt to discredit our plan.”
