Sen. Bill Cassidy on Monday reinforced that a repeal and replace bill for Obamacare must pass the “Kimmel test” to get his vote.
Speaking at the American Hospital Association’s annual meeting in Washington, the Louisiana Republican was referring to his support of a monologue last week by Jimmy Kimmel, in which the comedian shared difficult circumstances about his son’s birth and pleaded for politicians to keep Obamacare’s guarantee for coverage of people with pre-existing illnesses.
“You look it up and you can’t help but be moved,” Cassidy said. “The thing is that Kimmel’s son almost died … Kimmel in his overwhelming emotion says that he thinks everyone should have this. I agree.”
In his speech, Cassidy, who is expected to appear on”Jimmy Kimmel Live” Monday, drew from promises President Trump made when he was running for office, citing vows that people would not lose coverage, that premiums would be lower, that people with pre-existing conditions would be protected and that mandates would be eliminated. Trump’s healthcare promises helped him gain voters’ support, Cassidy said.
“It’s not that they wanted to get rid of Obamacare, they wanted something better,” he said.
Still, Cassidy criticized Obamacare, saying that it had resulted in premiums that were too high for those who didn’t qualify for subsidies, and that people paid out too much for coverage before they were able to see any benefits. He added that a replacement bill must lower premiums to gain his support, but that the American Health Care Act, the healthcare bill narrowly passed by the Republican-led House Thursday, did not pass his requirements for support.
Though, according to its supporters, it may lower premiums, Cassidy countered: “I realized the way you lower premiums is that you have terrible coverage.”
“I am a critic of the American Health Care Act,” he continued, to applause from the American Hospital Association, which has publicly opposed the bill. “I think it’s to set up tax reform and all the money used for coverage is instead going to be used to pay down the bill for tax reform.” The bill he introduced with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to repeal and replace Obamacare, called the Patient Freedom Act, would allow states to decide whether they want to stick with Obamacare or craft a new plan. He touted one of the options, which would auto-enroll people into basic plans through tax credits.
“We are going to come up with something that is not a Republican plan, not a Democratic plan, but an American plan,” he said of lawmakers using principles Trump promised during his run for office.
